The private GOP panic over the slash-and-burn DOGE firings [View all]
Source: Politico
02/20/2025 04:26 PM EST
A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency ramps up its slash-and-burn firings of federal workers.
GOP lawmakers unleashed a frantic flurry of calls and texts after federal agencies undertook the latest firings this past weekend, with Republicans particularly worried about cuts affecting public safety and health roles. Trump’s legislative affairs team, headed by former JD Vance aide James Braid, took the brunt of the frenetic fallout, according to four Republicans granted anonymity to discuss the conversations.
For the most part, Republican members are publicly cheering the administration’s push to slash the federal government, which is being led by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk with Trump’s blessing. But privately, many are feeling helpless to counter the meat-ax approach that has been embraced so far, with lawmakers especially concerned about the dismissal of military veterans working in federal agencies as well as USDA employees handling the growing bird flu outbreak affecting poultry and dairy farms.
“I thought we were supposed to be in a new era of meritocracy. Not the indiscriminate firing of people,” said one Republican congressional aide granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/20/gop-lawmaker-doge-cut-panic-00205282
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