Elon Musk’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE)’ and Trump’s Second-Term Overhaul of the Federal Workforce

Under President Trump’s second administration, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) is spearheading a sweeping overhaul aimed at drastically reducing the size of the federal workforce. Trump has recently signed an executive order outlining a large-scale downsizing plan for the federal government, significantly expanding the authority of Musk’s team in the process.

Under the new policy, all federal agencies—except those related to law enforcement and immigration—are restricted to hiring just one new employee for every four who retire or resign. Furthermore, any new hires must be approved in consultation with Musk’s DoGE Team Lead, and positions deemed unnecessary by the team cannot be filled unless explicitly authorized by the agency head.

Musk’s Federal Government Reform and the ‘Fork in the Road’ Program

As part of its Efficiency Improvement and Workforce Reduction through Natural Attrition initiative, the Trump administration has introduced a deferred resignation program known as Fork in the Road. This program incentivizes eligible federal employees to resign voluntarily while receiving their salaries through September.

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), approximately 75,000 federal employees—roughly 3% of the total federal workforce—have applied for resignation under this program. However, this figure falls short of the ambitious downsizing targets set by the administration.

Trump and Musk argue that reducing the size of the federal government is essential to curbing unnecessary spending and cutting bureaucratic inefficiencies, portraying the initiative as a policy that serves the American people. Musk has already deployed personnel across 19 federal agencies to identify redundant departments, instructing agency heads to draft workforce reduction plans aimed at minimizing replacements.

However, this initiative has sparked fierce opposition from federal employee unions and the political opposition. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other public sector organizations have denounced Fork in the Road as illegal, asserting that such a program cannot be implemented without prior congressional approval. The case has reached the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, where Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. recently denied a temporary injunction to halt the program but refrained from ruling on its legality. In response, the AFGE is considering further legal action.

Musk and Right-Wing Allies Decry Media Scrutiny as ‘Doxxing’

As media scrutiny of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency intensifies, Trump’s administration and right-wing factions have begun labeling investigative reporting as doxxing. Traditionally, doxxing refers to the act of maliciously exposing someone’s private information, but Musk and his allies have broadened the definition to include journalists publishing public information about government officials.

Recently, Wired published an article revealing the identities of six employees working at DoGE, prompting Musk to claim on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the journalist responsible had committed a crime. This claim was quickly echoed by far-right influencers, who condemned the report as doxxing.

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The controversy deepened when Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Long exposed past racist remarks made by a DoGE employee, Marko Elez. In response, Musk lashed out at Long, calling her a “disgusting and cruel person” who should be “immediately fired”. Meanwhile, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman joined the attack, branding Long a “malicious and unethical liar” and even sharing her personal contact details online.

The Trump administration has reinforced this stance. Ed Martin, the acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., has signaled possible legal action against journalists who allegedly target DoGE employees. However, civil liberties groups and press freedom advocates have pushed back, demanding that Martin clarify the legal basis for prosecuting journalists.

Right-Wing Attempts to Control the Media

The Trump administration and Musk’s allies have also escalated efforts to reshape the media landscape in their favor. Trump recently claimed, without evidence, that the government was funding media outlets like Politico to publish pro-Democrat articles. This has led to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation into public broadcasters PBS and NPR. Additionally, mainstream news outlets have had their Pentagon pressroom spaces reassigned to far-right organizations like Breitbart and One America News Network (OANN).

Meanwhile, conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation have launched projects aimed at exposing and ousting “left-wing bureaucrats” from federal agencies. Last October, the organization publicly named ten Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, branding them “America’s most dangerous immigration officials.” More recently, they have released a “DEI Watchlist” of over 50 federal employees, signaling an intensified purge of perceived opposition within the government.

The Threat to Press Freedom

Musk and Trump’s actions have raised grave concerns about the erosion of press freedom in the United States. Media watchdog groups warn that criminalizing journalism and intimidating reporters violates constitutional protections for the press. Critics argue that Musk and his supporters are applying a double standard—demanding privacy for themselves while aggressively surveilling others—ultimately shielding the government from accountability.

As the federal downsizing initiative collides with growing media suppression, the United States finds itself at a crossroads. What began as an effort to streamline the government is now entangled in a broader struggle over the fundamental principles of democracy, transparency, and press freedom. With legal battles looming and international scrutiny intensifying, the outcome of these policies will have profound implications for the nation’s future.