Are Democrats Actually in Disarray?
Plus: A listener asks the editors whether it makes sense for a country to have a sovereign wealth fund.
DOGE
What Did You Do Last Week?
Plus: German elections, how I almost got arrested this weekend, and more...
Research Says Big Federal Grants to Local Governments Breed Corruption
DOGE may not just save money; it may encourage honesty.
RIP to Government Acronyms
One perk that may materialize from Elon Musk upending the federal bureaucracy is the downfall of the government’s obsessive use of abbreviations.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
Americans Say Government Is Corrupt and Inefficient but Are Lukewarm About DOGE
Democrats seem willing to tolerate a lot to get a larger government, but Republicans aren’t much better.
Randy Barnett: How Legal Is Trump's Agenda?
Georgetown constitutional law professor Randy Barnett discusses the legality of DOGE, Trump's executive orders, and birthright citizenship.
It's Time for a Flat Tax
America’s tax system is already highly progressive. A simpler, flatter structure would be fairer, raise more revenue, and fuel economic growth.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
DOGE's Complicated Story
Plus: When FOIA stops working, how the pandemic shifted young people to the right, and more...
Justin Amash on Why the President Isn't Above the Law
Plus: A listener asks the editors to guess if the real reason Donald Trump is so passionate about tariffs is because he sees them as a deal-making tool rather than a purely economic instrument.
In DOGE Lawsuit, Judge Declines To Block White House Emailing Federal Employees
Citing Reddit posts and podcast interviews, pseudonymous government employees are arguing that DOGE violated federal privacy regulations when setting up a government-wide email system.
DOGE Can't Slash Government Without Congress
The federal leviathan can’t be dismantled by executive action alone. To truly cut spending and rein in the bureaucracy, the administration needs buy-in from the branch that built it.
DOGE Needs Data To Survive. These Lawsuits Are Trying To Starve It of Information.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits allege that DOGE's access to government payment and personnel systems violates a litany of federal privacy and record-handling laws.
Trump May Have To Grapple with Returning Inflation
Cutting government spending and calling off the trade war would be steps in the right direction.
Elon Musk's 'Proof' of Government Waste Is in the Pudding
Is the fraud in the room with us right now? Yes.
The Disappointing Results of Trump's 'Deferred Resignation' Plan Are Part of a Pattern
Elon Musk, the president's cost-cutting czar, has a habit of overpromising and underdelivering.
DOGE Begins Publishing Data After Transparency Complaints
After Elon Musk promised "maximum transparency," the DOGE's website posted organizational charts of federal agencies and statistics on the federal work force.
The War on Bureaucracy
Plus: Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, padlocked playgrounds, and more...
I Tried To Fix Government Tech for Years. I'm Fed Up.
Maybe DOGE will succeed where the U.S. Digital Service (mostly) failed.
DOGE Is Good. It's Not Enough.
Even if the Department of Government Efficiency eliminates all improper payments and fraud, we'll still be facing a debt explosion—which requires structural reform.
Elon Musk Implausibly Claims 'Competence and Caring' Can Cut the Federal Budget Deficit in Half
The DOGE director wildly exaggerates what can be accomplished by tackling "waste, fraud, and abuse" in government spending without new legislation.
Elon's 'Daily Proctology Exam'
Plus: Vance's AI speech, bubble boy playgrounds, Delaware antagonizes founders, and more...
The DOGE Bait and Switch
The pretend department’s downgraded mission reflects the gap between Trump’s promise of "smaller government" and the reality of what can be achieved without new legislation.
DOGE vs. Deep State
Plus: A listener asks the editors if there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of freedom in the United States.
5 of the Worst USAID Scandals in History
The agency's low points, from working with child sex abusers to enabling drug trafficking
Kill the Federal Department of Education
We could decentralize education, improve outcomes, and help reduce the size of the federal Leviathan.
Will Elon Musk Cut as Much Government as Al Gore Did?
In the early 1990s, Bill Clinton's administration set out to "reinvent" government. What can the mercurial Tesla CEO learn from their efforts?
Has DOGE Already Lost Its Way?
Much cutting. Very waste. But the Department of Government Efficiency might not have the legal and budgetary chops to actually reduce spending.
John Cochrane: How Will DOGE 'Disrupt' the Government?
Stanford economist John Cochrane discusses DOGE, tariffs, and what it will take to prevent a debt crisis.
USAID-Funded Pandemic Research Failed To Spot COVID or Ensure Chinese Transparency
There remains many open questions about whether the agency's funding played a role in the creation of COVID-19 in a Wuhan laboratory.
USAID Paying for Politico Is a Nontroversy
There are many legitimate criticisms of both USAID and Politico; this is not one of them.
The Freakout Over 'Big Balls' and DOGE
Plus: NYC trans medicine protest, airplane collision (again), and more...
America Is Going Broke. Will the Department of Government Efficiency Help?
Eliminating the deficit requires cutting the biggest spending—defense, Medicare, Social Security. So far, Trump says he won't touch those.
Is DOGE a 'Constitutional Crisis'?
Plus: USAID and Education Department cuts, tariff deal reached, and more...
DOGE's Big Challenge: Americans Who Hate Inefficiency but Love Bloated Government
The public worries about corruption and bureaucracy, but many want more of the same.
The White House's 'Feverish Dream' About $50 Million for Condoms in Gaza
The Trump administration made an extreme claim about wasteful foreign aid that just wasn't true.
36 Hours
Plus: Inside the DOGE disputes, Day 1 analysis with Mike Pesca, fleeing San Francisco, and more...
Many Workers Don't Want To Return to the Office. That Could Help Shrink the Government.
Remote work is a plus for many people and businesses, but that’s not necessarily true of D.C.
Janet Yellen's Short-Term Thinking Could Cost the U.S. Big
The Treasury Secretary’s debt decisions during the pandemic locked in low rates—but only for two years. Now, taxpayers are paying the price.
The Best of Reason: The Improbable Rise of MAGA-Musk
Is Elon Musk a reactionary with a defective bullshit meter or the best part of the second Trump administration?
Regulations' Enormous Costs Give DOGE an Enormous Opportunity
By one account, regulations cost American households over $15,000 per year. Here's hoping DOGE can help.
The DOGE Daze of Regulatory Reform
Why Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are overestimating the extent to which the administrative state can be brought to heel through Presidential fiat.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency Can—and Should—Tackle Medicare and Social Security
Doing nothing will lead to Medicare benefits being cut by 11 percent and Social Security Benefits being cut by 23 percent in less than a decade.
DOGE Sets Its Sights on High-Speed Rail
After nearly two decades and billions in federal funding, California’s high-speed rail project still isn’t up and running.
After Hunter's Pardon, Joe Biden Should Support De-Weaponizing Government Power
Maybe we can all agree that government officials shouldn’t target political enemies.
