William L. Kovacs

February 26, 2025

Articles from the Achieves Number 5.

In addition to the regular commentary on government reform, Reform the Kakistocracy periodically links the reader to several “Articles from the Archives” that are as relevant today as when they were written. This archive series aims to rescue novel discussions of topics that would otherwise be lost in the 402.74 million terabytes of data produced daily. When the excitement over the President’s Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) started, www.ReformTheKakistocracy.com undertook extensive research into the history of DOGE-type commissions, their successes and failings, and the enactment of congressional enforcement efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

The first of the five articles, “When DOGE Meets Political Chaos,” is the most noteworthy since it focuses on the wide-ranging conflict between political reality and the imagination of a genius. In modern-day Washington, DC, these are two separate realities, and the outcome of the clash is very uncertain. No matter the outcome, it will be an absolute bar fight. Both sides are big and strong. Both sides have a lot to lose. Both sides will be brutalized.

Now that DOGE has been active for a month, it has proven itself the proverbial bull in the china shop. With zeal, creativity, and a massive amount of hubris, it breaks everything – Civil Service employee protections, federal consulting and research contracts, employee morale, congressionally established agencies, and the sanctity of congressional appropriations. All is done by barking orders at agencies and government employees, terse emails that fire employees, and one-line threats of firing by email if specific tasks are not immediately performed. While Elon Musk might feel powerful flexing his muscles, he has created a whirlwind of animosity that makes the long-derided government workers look sympathetic.

DOGE’s biggest failure is delivering a cancer injection into the Republican Congress. DOGE is making the Republican Congress look anemic and irrelevant.

DOGE justifies its actions with a website that claims tens of billions of dollars in program cuts and ridding the nation of “worthless government employees.”

Political reality is pushing back amazingly hard. Within the past two weeks, 90 lawsuits have been filed. The lawsuits question the legality of DOGE and allege its actions violate the Freedom of Information Act, the Federal Advisory Commissions Act, the protected status of civil service employees, and the Constitution. Other suits assert the illegal reclassification of thousands of federal employees and the unconstitutional elimination of congressionally established agencies.

Tens of thousands of individuals will also file claims for back pay, job reinstatement, and, in some cases, violations of an employee’s due process and civil rights. Firing thousands of federal employees could result in tens of billions in judgments against the federal government.

There are more cases in litigation than the government can competently defend. Administration lawyers are not able to answer simple questions from the court concerning the facts of the disputes or intelligently discuss black-letter Civil Service law.

Moreover, DOGE’s claims of finding waste, fraud, and abuse are seriously questioned. The Wall Street Journal analyzed DOGE claims. DOGE claimed $55 billion in cuts, but the researchers could establish only $7 billion worth of reductions upon analysis. The Journal reported DOGE’s double counting, over-counting of savings, and sometimes taking credit for already-paid credit amounts. The geniuses may be proficient at quantum physics but fail to understand people, Congress, and addition and subtraction.

The most troubling part of DOGE’s rampage is harming the goodwill toward President Trump. In the first 33 days in office, Trump’s approval rating has fallen between 5% and 13%, the most for a president this early in their term. Trump’s approval rating is below 50%, notwithstanding majority policy support. These polls suggest a need to change strategies, which is the focus of “When DOGE meets Political Chaos.” The last five paragraphs suggest how DOGE can persuade the American people of its proposed need for reform by working with Congress to achieve lasting results.

What DOGE is trying to do is needed for the nation, but it also needs to understand the Constitution and Congress to succeed. Otherwise, it’s only breaking the china.

Links to the selected Articles from the Archives are:

Part V: Utah Land Claim: Put up/Shut Up Time for DOGE to Shrink Gov

Part IV: DOGE: Can’t Shrink Government Without Eliminating Its Power

Part III: DOGE Its Enforcement Stupid Not Another Report.

Part II: The Many Efforts by Predecessors of DOGE to Root Out WFA.

Part I: When DOGE Meets Political Chaos.

William L. Kovacs, author of Devolution of Power: Rolling Back the Federal State to Preserve the Republic. It received five stars from Readers’ Favorite. His previous book, Reform the Kakistocracy, received the 2021 Independent Press Award for Political/Social Change. He served as senior vice president for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chief counsel to a congressional committee. He can be contacted at [email protected]