The DOGE Effect

The reduction of the federal workforce, which is estimated at 2.3 million people, is more than a national story.

It also affects family members, friends and neighbors who live in many of our communities.

After all, there are more than 60,000 civilians in New York and Pennsylvania who work for Uncle Sam and about 24,000 who call New Jersey home who do so.

About 62,000 positions have been eliminated through layoffs since President Trump was inaugurated Jan. 20, according to a March 6 report by Reuters news agency. Many of these were probationary employees, who are fairly new to their jobs.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, is charged by the president’s executive order “to shrink the size of the federal government and limit hiring to essential positions.” There is no specified number of how many jobs will be cut nor how much money can be saved.

We asked readers if they or a loved one were affected by the federal layoffs. More than 70 people responded that they or a loved one had received notice of changed employment status with the federal government.

Eighteen said they or a loved one had been laid off or fired. Nineteen said they or a loved one were offered deferred resignation and did not take it.

We spoke with three local federal employees: one who works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New York, one from New Jersey who is an agent for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and an auditor with the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Pennsylvania.

They asked to remain anonymous.

They spoke about the uncertainty surrounding their jobs. There was “an insinuation that we are not loyal government workers,” one said.

Two agreed that the bureaucracy is bloated and there is a need to examine how government works.

“It may seem a bit chaotic in certain agencies right now,” said the DHS agent, “but it will be ironed out and some people will need to go because they don’t carry the weight.”

The federal employees also discussed the emails that DOGE sent, which included buyout offers for any off-site employees who wished to continue working remotely as well as a “pulse check,” which asked employees to reply with five things they had accomplished during the previous work week.

“These emails make the assumption that we’re not doing anything, that we’re not being productive, and that our managers don’t know what we’re doing. And it’s just not that way,” said the SBA auditor.

‘I fear for my job’

“There does not seem to be a clear line of communication as to what is expected from us,” said a Monroe, N.Y., resident who has spent the past six years working as a civilian with the Army Corps of Engineers out of West Point. “I fear for my job.”

The 21-year Army veteran, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said he is concerned that the stated mission of DOGE - to reduce waste, fraud and abuse - is being implemented in a less-than-productive manner.

On Jan. 28, he received the “Fork in the Road” email, sent from the government’s Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) email account. The email stated that federal employees are no longer allowed to work remotely, that workplace culture will insist on standards of excellence as a downsizing of the federal government is on the horizon and that OPM will ensure that employees are “reliable, loyal and trustworthy.”

On Feb. 23, he received an email asking him to reply with five things that he accomplished the previous week.

“The ‘Fork in the Road’ email rubbed me the wrong way due to an insinuation that we are not loyal government workers. The other email asked for five bullet points of what I accomplished last week. At first, most of the people I work with thought it may have been some sort of phishing email and initially I did not reply because guidance from our superiors was not to respond until further notice. For last week, I gave them five things I did that week that would probably be found on my job description. (It) was very general, and that was per the guidance sent out by headquarters.

“We already have an evaluation system where my supervisor and I establish goals and performance is based on that. We meet with our supervisors about this three times a year.”

He said he is aware of at least one person who accepted the deferred resignation offered in the ‘Fork in the Road’ email.

“They received a letter from HR saying they had to waive their rights for this, that and the other and that they cannot sue the government. They will be paid for the next eight months. The idea is that the government’s going to pay you in the short term, but they’re going to save money because you’re not going to get paid next year. Pensions will depend on length of employment with the government.”

Despite his unease with the current process, he does think there is room to cut the size of government.

“There was a term that started after COVID called ‘tele-scammers,’ people who are supposedly ‘teleworking’ but are really sleeping, taking care of their animals or taking their kids to school but not actually working,” he said. “So, yes, it would be nice to hold people to account but our union is telling us that what these emails are actually asking us to do is jump the chain of command. I don’t feel comfortable jumping the chain of command. I talk to and see my supervisor every day and if I’m not doing my job, she tells me so. (The union) thinks (DOGE) is trying to set up their own command structure to see where they can cut people.”

‘There a lot of lazy leeches on society working in the federal government’

A northern New Jersey resident, speaking on the condition of anonymity, works as a special agent in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and says his biggest concern has nothing to do with DOGE.

“I received the emails, and I’m not concerned,” said the man. “I thought the first email was a good way to buy people out and our superiors said to hang tight on the ‘pulse check’ email as they would take care of it. I work in an office building and am happy to reply. The truth is the building we are in often resembles a ghost town. There are a lot of lazy leeches in society working in the federal government. It may seem a bit chaotic in certain agencies right now, but it will be ironed out and some people will need to go because they don’t carry the weight. As for someone like my mom who watches hysteria on the news, stop it. My mom thinks I am going to lose my job. I tell her to turn off the news.”

He continued:

“The real concern, for me, is the left-wing activists who have been doxing us for years because we occasionally work with ICE. During arrests of human traffickers, our photos have been taken and posted online. Using facial recognition and online searches, they can find out who we are. We have Daniel’s Law in New Jersey to protect our families from this sort of thing.”

‘This administration has created a climate of fear’

An auditor with the Small Business Administration (SBA) lives in Milford, Pa., where she works remotely. She says the recent “offensive” email communications from the executive branch have her rethinking her retirement plans.

“I’m eligible to retire, but I hadn’t planned on retiring until the end of 2026,” she said. “I have a good job, and we do interesting work. I happen to be assigned to the group that conducts audits of the SBA Disaster Assistance Program. We make direct loans to individuals and businesses that have been impacted by disaster. So basically, individuals can get a low-interest loan and businesses can get a low-interest loan while they’re waiting to find out what their insurance is going to pay. If they receive compensation from insurance, they are required to pay down their loan balance with those funds. We can get the money out more quickly than the insurance companies can, and it’s intended not just to make the survivors whole after a disaster, it’s also intended to assist with economic recovery and restoring basically the whole community impacted by a disaster.

“As I said, I’m not prepared to retire just yet, but now I’m thinking I’m going to retire at the end of this year because I’m getting a little tired of being harassed,” said the 26-year government employee, who spent four of those years in the Navy. “Most of my co-workers are outside of the region but we have been notified we need to find office space by March 30, which isn’t easy since this is a rural area. We have identified space at Tobyhanna Army Depot, but that will actually cost taxpayers more money because right now the government is not paying for office space for me or anybody else working remotely.”

She says her morale and that of her co-workers is low.

“This administration has created a climate of fear,” she said. “It’s been demotivating, depressing and insulting because obviously it calls into question our integrity. These emails make the assumption that we’re not doing anything, that we’re not being productive, and that our managers don’t know what we’re doing. And it’s just not that way.”