Finally, Someone is Looking Into DOGE

Elon Musk’s DOGE is being audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), according to Wired. Sources and records have revealed that the GAO–a non-partisan and independent agency that works for Congress–has been undergoing a probe since March on Musk’s department. GAO spokesperson Sarah Kaczmarek has said that “GAO has received requests to review actions taken by DOGE across multiple agencies.” The audit is centered around DOGE’s access to—and misuse of—sensitive government data.

Records also show that the GAO has been working alongside the Department of Labor during the investigation. A Congressional aide says that there were many calls to investigate DOGE after “alarming” media reports came out about DOGE invading federal systems. “The reports of untrained people rummaging around databases, changing code, scraping data—who knows what they’re doing?—were pretty alarming,” the aide said. According to letters and reports obtained by Wired, Democrats have been pushing for a review of DOGE’s actions within multiple government agencies, in particular the Social Security Administration and Treasury Department. By the end of spring, the GAO review should be complete, with congressional sources adding that a public report of the findings will be released.

While Musk and his band of miscreant boys are firing federal employees (including veterans), a coding error appears to have been responsible for laying off 30 medical-related employees, including more than 10 laboratory leaders, at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). NINDS’ office of Human Resources scrambled to quickly re-hire the wrongly fired staff this week after a coding error mislabeled employees with incorrect position codes.

“NIH leadership has informed us that the individuals below should be contacted ASAP and told to immediately return to work,” stated a letter from HR. Among reinstated employees are three senior scientists and staff in the Office of Research Training and Career Development, as well as people in the Office of the Scientific Director and facilities. One of the wrongfully terminated employees was Richard Youle, who received a 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences after showing how clearing out damaged organelles discourages Parkinson’s disease.

“I am infuriated at the inefficiency of the time wasted by staff running around having to respond to these events, heartbroken for the emotional cost for hardworking, dedicated civil servants and scientific trainees just starting their careers,” said an anonymous NINDS employee.

These 30 individuals are just a drop in the bucket of the 10,000 federal workers hit with reduction-in-force notices after Robert F. Kennedy announced an administrative overhaul. This includes more than 1,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) probationary employees receiving termination notices in February. The agency later walked back some of those dismissals as well.

Chuck Schumer reprimanded Kennedy today over his reckless layoffs that included employees who’d worked with survivors and first responders to the 9/11 terror attack.

Republican politicians who advocated support for mass lay-offs and the administration behind them are finding that their constituents do not agree with their methods. Allegedly, Trump seems to be toying with the possibility of ending DOGE altogether.