Latest news with #GovernmentEfficiency
Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Treasury, IRS Face Staff Cuts, Tight Deadlines With Roll Out of New Trump Tax Breaks
By and Erik Wasson Save Staffing shortfalls and intricate new policies are complicating efforts at the Treasury Department and IRS to meet President Donald Trump's tight deadlines for churning out guidance on his multi-trillion-dollar tax bill. Just weeks after Trump signed the legislation into law, taxpayers are clamoring for more information from an Internal Revenue Service hit hard by cuts driven by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force. The agency's staff shrunk some 25% from January through May.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Opposition groups query Lancashire County Council's 'Doge' review
Plans by Reform UK to bring in a team of central advisors to scrutinise Lancashire County Council's operations have been questioned by opposition Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) is already working in some local authorities that the party has run since May's local opposition councillors in Lancashire said they were worried about information the Doge team would have access to at County Hall, and how they could use the council's deputy leader Simon Evans said: "Any efficiency findings are being done in partnership with the council. Agreements are still being sorted out - we're not at [that] point yet - but it will happen soon." 'Disappointing' Opposition group leader, Independent councillor Azhar Ali, said he would meet chief executive Mark Wynn to discuss his concerns about how any Doge visit would sit with the local authority's GDPR said: "People call it Doge - I call it dodgy, there's no structure to it."I just think this is a way of deflecting from the difficult decisions that the new Reform administration needs to make."No date for when the Doge team will arrive at County Hall in Preston has been set, something the Conservative group leader Aidy Riggott said was "disappointing"."We are now almost 12 weeks on from the elections and... the county council still hasn't provide any update or shared any communication with councillors as to how this process might work, or what safeguards are in place."Rigott said that while he would welcome Doge's visit, it was "highly unlikely" that the team would uncover "any scandal or ridiculous waste of taxpayers' money".But Reform UK's Evans said: "We've already found £500m government bonds bought by the last administration that are only worth £120m - we are finding out quite a lot." 'Finding waste' The leader of the council's Labour group, Mark Clifford, also expressed concerns about how sensitive data could be accessed and used by the Doge team."Where will this information end up? These entrepreneurs [who are part of Doge] are saying they're going to do it for free."Does that mean that they are never going to sell any of the information on, they're never going to apply for a contract at any council in the UK in future?"Evans said many people "get Doge all wrong - they think it's all about cutting - it's really not, it's about finding waste, and redirecting that to the front line".But Ali said: "If there is waste, they've got 53 councillors who have time on their hands, who can come in and start going through the books, this is a waste of time."The BBC has approached Reform UK's national headquarters for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
France 24
7 days ago
- Business
- France 24
US senators approve $9 billion of Elon Musk's federal cuts
The upper chamber of Congress green-lit the measure in what was seen as the first test of how easily lawmakers could usher into law savings sought by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) -- in the aftermath of the tech mogul's acrimonious exit from the government. Despite the cutbacks' unpopularity in some sections of both parties, the Republican-led Senate passed the measure with 51 votes for and 48 against in a session that went more than two hours past midnight. The version of the text passed in June by the House of Representatives sought to eliminate $400 million in funding allocated to health programs, including the PEPFAR global AIDS relief fund created by then-president George W. Bush. But defunding PEPFAR -- which has saved an estimated 26 million lives -- was seen as a nonstarter among a handful of moderate Republican senators, and the proposal was dropped. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told AFP the bill was consistent with Trump's promises to cut spending. "I've been a big fan of the foreign aid accounts... I'm a big hawkish guy, but you need foreign aid. You need soft power," he said. "But when you start spending money on a bunch of junk, and liberal programs disconnected from the purpose of the aid package, it makes it difficult on a guy like me." The bill now goes back to the House for final approval, with lawmakers up against the clock. Congress, which had already allocated the money, has to approve the cuts by Friday or the White House must spend the cash as originally intended. Legislation to claw back money already approved by Congress -- known as a "rescissions package" -- is extremely rare, and no such measure has passed in decades. 'Surrendering powers' Around a dozen Republicans had voiced concerns about allowing the White House to dictate spending cuts, placing them in the crosshairs of Trump, who last week threatened to withhold his endorsements from any rebels. The vote was the first in what Republicans have touted as a potential series of packages codifying the spending cuts made by DOGE. Musk was tapped by Trump to lead the task force after the tech billionaire spent $290 million helping him get elected. The SpaceX and Tesla boss boasted that he would be able to save $2 trillion in federal spending -- but left the White House under a cloud in late May as he feuded with Trump over deficits and spending. DOGE acknowledges that it has saved taxpayers just $190 billion -- and fact checkers even see that claim as dubious, given previous inaccuracies in its accounting. The rescissions package slashes around $8 billion in foreign aid, with much of that approved for humanitarian organization USAID, one of DOGE's first targets. Around $1 billion is to be taken back from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations. Conservatives often accuse PBS and NPR of bias, and Trump signed an executive order in May to cease federal funding for both networks. Democrats say cutting the funding will not meaningfully reduce the deficit, but instead dismantle a trusted source of information for millions of Americans. "It is yet another example of the spirit and ideals of our Constitution being undermined in a terrible way. We are a nation that believes that (Congress) has a real role," New Jersey Senator Cory Booker told AFP. "And this is a bunch of my colleagues in thrall of the president, surrendering the powers of us, and the urgency for us to work together and do it in a bipartisan way to improve budgets." © 2025 AFP
The Independent
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Hegseth raged at DOGE official who was accused of calling the police to the Pentagon, report says
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at a senior Department of Government Efficiency official who allegedly called the Pentagon police on a subordinate after a confrontation, according to a new report. The reprimand allegedly took place after a tense one-on-one meeting on April 4 between Yinon Weiss, Elon Musk's pick to lead DOGE at the Defense Department, and Justin Fulcher, another official at the advisory body, three sources told the Washington Post. It came at a tumultuous time for the defense secretary, who was dealing with the fallout from Signalgate, where top officials gave The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg a front row seat as they discussed impending strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen in March. After storming out of the meeting, Fulcher allegedly went to Hegseth's office and complained that he believed Weiss had reported him to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Weiss's alleged actions angered the defense secretary, the sources said. It's not clear what caused the argument between Weiss and Fulcher. At times raising his voice, the sources added that an irate Hegseth demanded that Weiss, who departed DOGE last week, explain why he believed he possessed the authority to evict someone from government property. Weiss attempted to explain to Hegseth that he had not contacted the Pentagon police but another government official, two people familiar with their argument said. One source claimed that Weiss contacted the Pentagon transition office that assists newly arriving political appointees. In a text message to The Post, Fulcher said that he believed no police were called, nor did he see any law enforcement officers. 'There was one person who was making claims that he was going to call PFPA (Pentagon Force Protection Agency) – that was clear,' he said. Despite Fulcher's admission, Hegseth did not appear to blame the DOGE employee. After his spat with Weiss, he was provided with a Pentagon office space. After firing senior Pentagon officials in mid-April, Hegseth named Fulcher a senior adviser. While Fulcher remains in his position, sources said he has been relocated from outside Hegseth's main office to a desk down the hall. Fulcher told The Post that the move was temporary, due to maintenance work being conducted. Reflecting on his departure from DOGE on Tuesday, Weiss thanked Hegseth for the 'unprecedented opportunity' he gave the group. '@SecDef carefully and fairly weighed in on every recommendation that was presented to him, and he fully embodied the values he promotes for the Department; reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military, and reasserting deterrence,' he tweeted. The altercation highlights tension between senior Pentagon officials and those assigned to DOGE, whose mission to dismantle federal departments has reportedly clashed with national security priorities.
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
DOGE Head Must Testify in Fight Over Records Access, Court Rules
The Trump administration must disclose certain information about the Department of Government Efficiency to a watchdog advocacy group and make DOGE's administrator Amy Gleason available to testify, a US appeals court in Washington ruled. The Monday order is a setback for the administration, which won an earlier round before the US Supreme Court this year. A majority of justices held in June that a US district judge went too far in ordering the administration to comply with demands for written answers and documents about President Donald Trump's cost-cutting program. The Supreme Court sent the case back with instructions to 'narrow' information DOGE had to give up.
