TRUMP AND MUSK EXPOSE AMERICA’S USELESS BUREAUCRATS
Donald Trump is back, and he’s not wasting any time reminding the Washington elite why they feared him in the first place.
This time, his weapon of choice is Elon Musk—a man who made Tesla profitable while the government was still figuring out how to send emails with attachments.
Musk, now head of the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, because why not?), just dropped a nuclear-grade reality check on the federal workforce:
If you can’t list five things you accomplished last week, pack your bags.
Cue the bureaucratic meltdown.
A Nation Built on Productivity… Or Not?
This isn’t some radical idea Musk pulled out of his back pocket while joyriding in a Cybertruck. The concept of holding government workers accountable goes all the way back to America’s founding.
The difference? Back then, you worked, or you didn’t eat. Today, you can apparently sit in an office for 40 years doing absolutely nothing and walk away with a cushy pension.
Think I’m exaggerating? In 2016, a report by the Government Accountability Office found that firing a federal employee takes, on average, 370 days—and that’s if the agency even bothers to try.
In other words, the private sector could build an entire skyscraper in the time it takes to remove one slacker from their taxpayer-funded sinecure.
That’s the system Trump and Musk are up against. And predictably, the bureaucrats aren’t happy.
The Federal Freakout
The moment Musk’s directive hit inboxes, federal agencies started foaming at the mouth. The FBI, State Department, and Department of Defense quickly told employees to ignore the request, with anonymous sources whining about “sensitive information.”
Because, of course, nothing says classified like a government worker detailing how they attended a two-hour Zoom meeting about DEI initiatives.
Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) backpedaled faster than Joe Biden trying to exit a stage, suddenly clarifying that, actually, compliance is optional.
The mainstream media wasted no time painting Musk’s simple email as some dystopian, Orwellian horror show. Washington Post, CNN, and the usual suspects all rushed to defend the “dedicated” federal workforce that, apparently, can’t even handle being asked what they do all week.
Yet, despite the establishment’s pearl-clutching, over one million federal workers responded to Musk’s email. That means, at the very least, one million government employees were able to articulate some kind of productivity.
The real question? What about the other two million who suddenly went radio silent.
What Does the Federal Government Actually Do?
For years, conservatives have argued that the federal workforce is bloated beyond belief. We’ve seen study after study proving that bureaucratic expansion has outpaced population growth, GDP growth, and—most tragically—common sense.
Back in 1960, the federal government employed 1.8 million civilians. Today that number has exploded to over 2.9 million.
And yet, has the quality of government services improved? Are passports issued faster? Are potholes disappearing? Is the IRS suddenly pleasant to deal with?
Didn’t think so.
But let’s look at the numbers. The Department of Agriculture employs nearly 100,000 people. The Department of Education—an agency that didn’t even exist until 1979—has 4,400 employees, despite test scores plummeting nationwide.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service, which has lost $87 billion since 2007, still employs over half a million people. Any private company with this level of inefficiency would have gone belly-up years ago. But not the government.
Trump’s Masterstroke
Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. By letting Musk be the face of this initiative, he distances himself just enough to let the billionaire absorb the left’s outrage while keeping the policy front and center.
It’s classic Trump: Find an issue that exposes Washington’s incompetence, let the media overreact, and watch as the American public sides with him.
And here’s the kicker—Musk isn’t backing down. Despite the bureaucratic pushback, he reiterated that federal employees who don’t respond will get a second chance before being shown the door.
(Translation? There’s still time for DC’s professional meeting-attenders to fabricate something resembling work.)
The truth is, this move isn’t just about cutting dead weight. It’s about shifting the culture. The mere act of asking federal employees to justify their existence is forcing an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about government efficiency—or lack thereof.
The Swamp Won’t Drain Itself
Trump and Musk’s partnership is already shaping up to be the most disruptive force Washington has seen in decades. If they follow through, we could be looking at the biggest shake-up of the federal workforce since Reagan took on the air traffic controllers in 1981.
But make no mistake—this won’t be easy.
The bureaucratic class, the media, and the Democrats (who rely on the administrative state like a life support machine) will fight tooth and nail to stop any real reform.
But here’s the good news: The American people are watching. They’ve seen how Musk turned multiple industries on their heads while Washington floundered.
And they’ve seen how Trump thrives in the face of opposition. If these two men stay the course, we might finally see what happens when government employees are forced to prove they actually do something.
And for those who can’t? Well, let’s just say the federal jobs program known as “early retirement” is about to get a whole lot bigger.
