Volatility

In some weeks, decades happen.

The Big Government Contracts DOGE Hasn’t Touched

The New York Times accuses DOGE of timidity for not going after large contractors, while pursuing a campaign against small companies and non-profits.

‘The group’s cuts have had big effects for small companies and nonprofits that work with the government.

‘“They have gone to really the equivalent of the mom-and-pop shops,” said Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a group that investigates corruption and waste in government. “They are so on the margin of savings when it comes to the federal budget but have extraordinary impacts on the companies because they are small companies.”’

Struggling With Errors, DOGE Deletes Billions More From List of Savings

Apparently Musk and his team who have been in the government for a minute are not infallible.

I think they’re able to learn, though. I’ll take that bet, New York Times.

‘Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has deleted hundreds more claims from its mistake-plagued “wall of receipts,” erasing $4 billion in additional savings that the group said it had made for U.S. taxpayers.

‘Late Sunday night, the group erased or altered more than 1,000 contracts it had claimed to cancel, representing more than 40 percent of all the contracts listed on its site last week. The deleted items included five of the seven largest savings that it had claimed credit for just last week. At the same time, the group added about 1,000 additional canceled contracts, worth smaller total savings.

‘It was the second time in a week that DOGE had deleted some of its greatest claims of success. Early last week, it erased all five of the largest savings it had claimed when the wall of receipts, which is what the group is calling its list of canceled contracts, was originally posted on Feb. 19.’

Trump administration ordered to reinstate thousands of fired USDA workers

Sounds like a technicality.

‘Thousands of fired workers at the Department of Agriculture must get their jobs back for at least the next month and a half, the chair of a federal civil service board ruled Wednesday.

‘The ruling said the recent dismissals of more than 5,600 probationary employees may have violated federal laws and procedures for carrying out layoffs.’

DOGE’s first cut at bureaucracy: A target inventory

This is subtle.

Before: you could only go after regulations with excessive costs.

Now: you can attack regulations that overreach in ways that conflict with the constitution, statute, or common sense.

‘Rather than simply reducing rules with excessive costs as regulatory orders have done traditionally, EO 14219 more explicitly targets regulations deemed unconstitutional, illegal power grabs, or obstructions to economic progress in ways that question legitimacy of the administrative state as such. Criteria for rule termination and modification align with recent Supreme Court rulings curtailing administrative overreach, positioning the executive branch for legal confrontations to challenge federal bureaucracy in almost unprecedented ways.’

Dems’ DOGE problem may be bigger than they thought

The Times has criticized DOGE for not cutting much at all, for cutting too much, for being haphazard.

The spray-and-pray messaging is a sign of the difficulty in criticizing the spirit of DOGE.

‘When moderate Democrats huddled last month at an upscale resort in Loudoun County, Virginia — at a retreat hosted by the centrist group Third Way — those gathered concluded that their party is seen as “favoring excessive regulations, inefficient spending, and programs that don’t directly benefit them,” factors putting them on the back foot in responding to DOGE. Not only that, but their party also struggles with being “seen as defending elite institutions” such as the “government bureaucracy,” they agreed, according to a memo they wrote after.’

Executive Order on DOGE Cost Efficiency: Major Changes in Federal Contracts and Grants

This summary makes it sound like there are no (or insufficient) controls on spending in place now.

What kind of contract management do they use now?

‘The Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) on Feb. 26, 2025, implementing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) "cost efficiency initiative" that seeks to transform federal spending on contracts, grants and loans by mandating federal agencies implement new mechanisms for recording, justifying and approving agency payments; conduct comprehensive reviews of contracts, grants, contracting policies, procedures and personnel; and issue new guidance on signing or modifying contracts.’

GOP lawmaker calls for VA to ‘guarantee’ only underperformers are targeted in workforce layoffs

If the philosophy here is to reduce the footprint of government, then all kinds of performers are going to get cut.

Of course, there is no way to guarantee only underperformers are let go. There is the principal-agent problem to contend with.

Imagine the scale of the principal-agent problem in a bureaucracy like the VA and the only option to unravel the Gordian knot is to cut it with a broad sword.

‘In his letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, Barrett said he supported ongoing efforts to streamline VA’s operations and healthcare delivery services, but added that “this must be done in a way that keeps our promise to all veterans at the VA, including those who receive care and those who help carry out its mission.”

Barrett noted that the department has prioritized keeping critical personnel but said “I am concerned that probationary but otherwise qualified veterans are being unintentionally let go in the process.”’