DOGE— Ripping Off the Band-Aid

A personal note: As you read this article, keep this in the back of your mind— 36 TRILLION Dollars in debt.

36 Trillion, damn large number, isn’t it? So huge no one can digest let alone discuss it. So why now has our national debt been brought into the spotlight? Some believe it’s just about the debt when in fact it really isn’t. Our debt is nothing more than an ever growing symptom of a disease which is in the process of killing it’s host. Meaning the United States as a whole. What’s the disease? Simple: The administrative state (aka: The Deep state.) Although if we’re being completely honest, the source of this disease (or what’s fueling this disease) is our Congress. I know, the truth can at times be a painful one. Congress got us into this mess and we look to them to get us out of it but instead, they keep piling it on. But that still doesn’t answer the question— why now? Could it be they know something the rest of us don’t? Could it be the economic hammer is about to fall on the U.S. (and by extension) world economies? Have we arrived at that scary point where if nothing is done, the collapse is eminent? Seems like it, doesn’t it? Though I’m certain many here in the U.S. would love to see that happen. However, if it does, the 1929 Great Depression will look like a picnic in comparison. While I doubt that will happen (fingers crossed,) one can’t dismiss that those who are supposed to be a whole lot smarter than the rest of us are getting nervous.

Waste— Fraud and Abuse

This has been going on since President Ronald Reagan. Most likely long before but we can start with Reagan. The Goa (Government Accountability Office) was established in 1987 so Reagan was in office at the time which begs the question. Where the hell has the GOA been for the last thirty-eight years? That’s their job, isn’t it? Maybe they have done a few good things, if they have, I’m not aware of any. Or perhaps they have and nothing has ever been significantly done about it. I do remember when Reagan did address the waste fraud and abuse during one of his speeches and set up the Grace Commission by executive order on June 30, 1982 to offer suggestions on how to remedy the deficit plaguing the U.S. but as far as I’m aware, after their report, nothing (or very little) was ever done. Keep in mind— back then, we were only $1.86 trillion in debt. Five years later, the GOA was put into place. What have we gotten out of that? Not much. And what has the GOA cost us over 38 years? No one ever asks that question. One can only imagine.

Trump, during his first term did try to address waste, fraud and abuse also under the talking point Reagan used— “drain the swamp.” Needless to say seeing as he was a newbe President, many in politics and the administrative state including many Establishment Republicans didn’t give him much help so it was soon forgotten. Afterwards, with Biden installed, it went directly back to the status quo. In other words, the swamp was back in business and getting stronger by the day with the U.S. becoming poorer. And who was/is it that appropriates money for all this? Yep! The Congress. Democrat or Republican held, it didn’t much matter. Trump was sick of it during his first term but his hands were tied in the way appropriation/reconciliation bills were written, then passed primarily on party-line votes, which is the main reason Reagan wanted the line item veto which he never received. For more on this, see article: The Big Con. Nevertheless, waste, fraud and abuse continues. That is until…..

Out of the ether comes Elon Musk

I always knew Trump wanted to solve this problem since his first term. And vigorously campaigned on it this time around. But never in a million years would I have guessed Elon Musk was going to be the man Trump would rely on to root it all out for him. You didn’t much hear about Elon Musk (politically speaking) until that fateful day of the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Penn. Next thing you know, Musk is everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that he and his gang of techno-wizards providing their expertise in exposing all this rot to the American public. On top of which, this time Trump is actually doing something with the information Musk and his team have discovered. Even better is the transparency. Right, wrong or indifferent, Trump promised he’d shine a bright light on it all and that’s exactly what he’s done and continues to do (to the chagrin of Democrats and Liberal Media.) And he’s just begun. We’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg.

Ripping Off the Band-Aid

If anyone believed solving the problem of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S would be completely painless, they’d have to be delusional. It stands to reason, if you’re going to be cutting and at times, clawing back money from some of the most ridiculous programs imaginable, it’s going to affect someone somewhere. As we’ve been discovering billions of dollars just parked (hidden away) in some account somewhere, the very first thing we think of when we’re told about them is… seriously? Then we get angry as we say the word again only this time out loud… seriously?? This is where billions of taxpayer money going? Our next thought is… Who the hell approved this? (We’ll get into this in the next segment.)

But yes, jobs will be lost and buildings will be sold off. Some are complaining Trump is making mistakes in haste laying off or firing someone only to be rehired once the mistake was caught. But that’s OK, shit happens when you’re trying to basically restructure U.S. agencies and save hundreds of billions in the process. However, there might be a better way which I will discuss a little later in the segment “reconstruction”.

Congress: “It’s Not Our Fault!”

Just a quick note to Congress. OF COURSE IT’S YOUR FAULT! Whose fault do you think it is? You are the ones who spend taxpayers money. If fact, you spend all the money the U.S. takes in from a multitude of sources. Granted, the President does have to make the final approval but most times he does so begrudgingly or out of fear of a government shutdown. Think Trump will be overly concerned this time? Nope.

Want to know where the bulk of the waste, fraud and abuse comes from? Take a deep dive into these reconciliation bills congress passes without reading them first. Perhaps they’ll get there eventually and shine a light on it all but for now, Trump is going after the administrative state first. And what Musk has found should piss-off everyone. But these agencies, NGO’s and the rest aren’t stupid. Take USAID for example. Amongst all the shit they’re doing, they mix in a few good things that actually do help people in need. Why do they do this? First is so the media can declare these agencies need to remain open for the great work they’re doing (conveniently neglecting to mention all the shit.) Second, it makes it more difficult to close them down completely because some activist Judge will delay it. Notice they rarely if ever stop a closure completely. They’re all delays. (Expected as I wrote about in many articles.) Delay, delay, delay.

That being said, one of the single largest acts of waste (most likely fraud involved as well) but definitely abuse was the hundreds of billions of dollars that went to Ukraine with incredibly— no strings attached. That alone is mind-blowing but should come as no surprise seeing Biden was calling the shots. However, so was Congress and I can’t stress this enough. They wrote the bill giving Ukraine the money without assurances. Biden just signed his name. There is so much more to this issue but I’m saving it for my next and hopefully final article in regard to Ukraine. Until then, feel free to catch up on my earlier articles dating back to 2022. In any event, looks like I’ve turned out to be correct on pretty much everything. Here’s the articles beginning with The Pot Calling the Kettle Black written about three years ago. Next came Ukraine War: It’s Time To End It Before It Ends Us written two years ago and the third installment 60 Billion to Ukraine— Congress Lost It’s Mind. Good idea to read them first before you read the one coming soon.

The BIG Three

Trump winning the election (to many Democrats but especially the Administrative State in Washington) was bad enough with many shaking in their boots so Trump’s name at the top of The Big Three is a given. So, who are The Big Three? Pam Bondi— Elon Musk— and the most concerning of all to the administrative state is the man they fear the most— Kash Patel. There is a fourth and while important, it’s not as important as the first three. At least not at the moment and this is Congress itself because (1) they inhabit both sides of the coin. One side being the problem, the other is the solution. (2) Their ability to hold public hearings.

I wrote an article last June titled: 2025: When the Shit Hits the Fan and I can comfortably say, it’s about to which is the main reason Biden handed out all those pardons. Pardon or not, it won’t save them from at the very least, finally coming forward with the truth once brought before Congress— again. Why? Because there’s no protecting them, pardon or not. They can’t plead the fifth and if they continue to lie, Biden’s pardon won’t protect them.

You see— when people think of DOGE, they think about waste fraud and abuse regarding taxpayer money and a bloated government. They also think about fraud in respect to dead people collecting social security, medicare and medicaid. It wasn’t until Musk and his team began looking into all this finding some of the most ludicrous programs on the planet receiving millions of dollars are we finally beginning to see how deep the administrative rabbit hole goes. What we don’t know so far is— who specifically inside these agencies/government departments/NGO’s including others we’ve yet to discover approved spending the money. Who oversees these agencies who receive billions? Congress and inspector generals? This is where the real fraud lies.

Remember the old saying; If people knew just half of what really goes on in Washington, there’d be another revolution.

Now that many of Trump’s team have been confirmed, they will be DOGE’ing their own agencies. If anything remotely nefarious is found, that’s where Kash Patel will come into play because I’m certain Pam Bondi has given Patel a green light and a blank check to look into what’s really going on the Administrative State. Trust me when I say— heads most definitely will be rolling and trust me again when I say— it won’t be just government waste fraud and abuse. He’ll be looking into everything. It will be constant Christmas-time for Washington lawyers. Not immediately mind you seeing they’ve only been at their jobs for less than a month, but I suspect very soon.

Reconstruction

“Permission to give an analogy?” Jesse Watters would ask Dana Perino on occasion during The Five.

A man brings his computer into a repair shop and says his computer no longer boots up and asks the repairman to diagnose the problem agreeing to the 100.00 fee. The following day, the repairman says his computer is loaded with viruses and malware. He runs his anti-virus program on the hard drive and while it eliminated all the viruses and malware the program found, the computer still refused to boot. Knowing the problem resides on the hard drive, he then informs the man he has two choices. (1) He can have the repairman do a deep analysis into the system and try to find the exact problem which will be very expensive or (2,) he can just back-up his important documents, pictures and video, completely erase the disk, delete all partition[s], install new partition[s], install a new (but same) operating system and he’s back in business costing much less time and money.

Now, common sense and our bank accounts tells us the best way to go is the less expensive way seeing as the man really doesn’t give a rats ass what specifically caused the issue. He just wants his computer back in good working order without viruses and malware on it for the least amount of money. In other words, curiosity can be expensive. Just fix it.

Musk and his team at DOGE are the discoverers, Trump and his team in his cabinet take it from there. That is, until activist Judges throw wrenches into it all to slow it down. What has Musk discovered so far? Take a look by clicking here. But for now, we’ll use USAID as an example:

USAID: A sticky wicket indeed.
According to the United States Government Manual:
USAID was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to unite several foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency. Statute law places USAID under “the direct authority and policy guidance of the Secretary of State”. It implements programs in global health, disaster relief, socioeconomic development, environmental protection, democratic governance and education. With average annual disbursements of about $23 billion since 2001, USAID has been one of the world’s largest aid agencies and accounts for most U.S. foreign assistance – the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms. USAID has missions in over 100 countries, primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

USAID is headed by the administrator of the Agency for International Development, who is nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and then sworn into office. This position is not a cabinet member but reports to the secretary of state. This appointed position typically ends when the appointee resigns, is replaced, or when a new president assumes office and appoints their own leadership, though some may serve temporarily during transitions between administrations. USAID is an independent agency, meaning it operates within the executive branch but outside the president’s cabinet, giving it some level of autonomy.

Wikipedia goes on to say:
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.

USAID reports to the Secretary of State, as it operates under the direct authority and policy guidance of the U.S. Department of State. The agency is an independent establishment but coordinates its programs and activities with the State Department. Marco Rubio was appointed acting administrator on February 3, 2025

USAID is primarily funded through the federal budget, with its budget for fiscal year 2023 being around $40 billion, which is less than 1% of the overall federal budget. The agency receives appropriations from Congress to support its various humanitarian and development programs worldwide.

The top 15 organizations that received USAID funding between 2013 and 2022 are:

Catholic Relief Services: $4.6 billion (nonprofit)
Chemonics International: $4.5 billion (for-profit)
FHI 360: $3.8 billion (nonprofit)
Development Alternatives, Inc.: $3 billion (for-profit)
ABT Associates, Inc.: $2.6 billion (for-profit)
RTI International: $2.3 billion (research institute)
John Snow International: $1.8 billion (nonprofit)
Save the Children Federation, Inc.: $1.5 billion (nonprofit)
ARD, Inc.: $1.5 billion (nonprofit)
Jhpiego Corporation: $1.3 billion (nonprofit)
Deloitte: $1.2 billion (for-profit)
World Vision: $1.2 billion (nonprofit)
Mercy Corps: $1.1 billion (nonprofit)
ADCI/VOCA: $1.1 billion (nonprofit)
Population Services International: $1.1 billion (nonprofit)

Seeing as most of us have absolutely no idea who many listed above are, nor do most of us care— 40 Billion is a hell of a lot of money no matter what you say in justifying it. If one percent of the budget is considered a drop in the bucket, when you give it some thought, all you need is 99 more drops and it goes to 100%. Even less when some drops are larger than others. Next thing you know, Musk finds out the following insanity:

$1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities”
$70,000 for production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
$2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam
$47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
$32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
$2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
$6 million to fund tourism in Egypt
Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations — even AFTER an inspector general launched an investigation
Millions to EcoHealth Alliance — which was involved in research at the Wuhan lab
“Hundreds of thousands of meals that went to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria”
Funding to print “personalized” contraceptives birth control devices in developing countries
Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban

Now, here’s the point I have difficulty understanding.
If USAID in now an independent agency funded by Congress and for the time being (until Trump nominates a new administrator who will be confirmed by Congress) Marco Rubio is acting administrator then it would stand to reason that Rubio would have the real authority to pause, freeze or stop altogether sending money to anyone, any organization he deems necessary. That is unless Congress set limitations on how far the authority of said administrator extents within his agency. Therefore— while some activist Judge thinks he can stop Trump (the President) from freezing all monies being doled out by USAID, one would think he would not be able to do the same with Marco Rubio (the administrator himself) of the USAID seeing as it’s his show to run however he sees fit. I could be wrong but, one would think…

When you think about it, it’s sad yet almost laughable that on the one hand, you have a President that wants to drain the swamp and on the other, you have a Congress that actively fuels the swamp through bills they pass. USAID has approximately ten-thousand employees. That’s ten-thousand paychecks in their budget. What people fail to realize is that all those outside programs they fund also have budgets, employees and paychecks and that’s before anything goes out to the people they supposedly help. It makes you wonder, after everything is said and done, when you subtract the massive administrative cost of all these programs including USAID itself as the one funding these programs, I’m certain the American public would be astonished and furious if we found out how much remained to provide the actual aid it boasts about. And don’t forget— this is just one federal agency among many.

DOGE isn’t simply about saving money, it includes righting the ship and it’s an important tool in getting this accomplished. Yes, people will get fired and laid off. Like it or not, that’s part of the process. Shit happens but when that bright light we keep talking about shines on everything, I promise you in the end, the American public will look back on it as a necessary evil. It had to be done to save the political and economic well being of the country..

Again, when you add waste, fraud and abuse altogether taking place daily in our government, I truly believe DOGE will find more than one trillion. On top of which, I also believe All Congressional Spending Bills should be DOGE’d before being voted on. That’s where the real abuse lies. But you still have to ask the question.

Where the hell has the GOA been these last 38 years?

Perhaps they need to be DOGE’d as well.