The ‘Schumer shutdown’ gives Trump an opportunity to reshape the government

President Donald Trump is threatening significant layoffs of federal workers unless talks aimed at ending the “Schumer shutdown” show some progress. They’re not even close; as Senator John Kennedy posted on X: “You’d need an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the Senate Democrats’ demands for re-opening the government.”

What is the White House waiting for?

After all, Team Trump has been encouraging the downsizing of federal agencies since it took office. Just eight days after the president was inaugurated, the Office of Personnel Management sent an email inviting almost the entire federal workforce to resign. As of today, some 150,000 federal employees have taken advantage of the offer; most will be leaving their positions in coming weeks.

TRUMP SAYS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LAYOFFS ARE ‘UP TO’ DEMS AS STANDOFF CONTINUES

Democrats are horrified — at the threat of layoffs and at any attempt to shrink the government’s workforce. For them, every federal job is sacred, even as our debt spirals out of control.

This country was spending at an annualized rate of less than $5 trillion per year when COVID hit; that jumped almost overnight to more than $7 trillion, and we have never looked back. Everyone seems to agree that current spending levels are “unsustainable”, coming in at levels historically only seen during wars or national emergencies, but then our elected officials plow right ahead sustaining them.

Asked why the White House might take advantage of this opportunity to cut overhead, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered, “Because we have an administration and we have a president who are wholeheartedly focused on restoring fiscal sanity to our government and doing the right thing by the American taxpayer.” 

Spending is popular and politically appealing; retrenchment is not. To its credit, the Trump administration has boldly attempted to cut waste and fraud, estimated by former President Joe Biden’s own General Accountability Office (GAO) to total $233 billion to $521 billion each year.

The public isn’t fooled. A survey done by the CATO Institute in April showed the public believes that the government “wastes 59¢ of every $1 it spends.” That’s quite an indictment and probably explains why 89 percent of respondents were in favor of auditing all government spending, in order to root out waste and fraud. Moreover, CATO found that “Americans Would Cut 40 Percent Across the Board.”

Alas, it’s not so easy, as Elon Musk found out. He took on reforming the government through the Department of Government Efficiency, which met with near-hysterical resistance from Democrats. Critics deride DOGE’s efforts, noting that federal spending continues to rise. That is true, but much of the increase in spending — like rising interest rates or Social Security — is beyond the reach of DOGE. 

The good news is that DOGE is still at it, working quietly behind the scenes to eliminate wasteful programs. Just recently, the group announced that “agencies terminated and descoped 94 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $8.5B and savings of $546M, including a $533k Dept. of Commerce consulting contract for ‘editing support services to the Fisheries Resource Division…’” In another post, DOGE cites the termination of 55 wasteful contracts…[costing hundreds of millions of dollars] including a $163k HHS education & training contract to “provide information on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People…”

The liberal media tries to discredit DOGE’s work, but Musk’s previous team credibly argues their successes, calling one NPR article “careless at best, or malicious.” No one is surprised. 

Politicians tend to protect their pork. The GAO, while estimating that much of the taxpayer’s dime was flushed down the federal toilet, concluded that, “Given the scope of the problem, a government-wide approach is required to address it.” Shockingly, no one in the Biden White House lifted a finger.

Today, the Trump White House has a chance to eliminate more government jobs. They should grab it; it may not come again. In that CATO survey, more than half thought the government employed too many people; 62% would support trimming the federal workforce. That looks like a mandate.

They could start with some of the 441 federal agencies listed in the Federal Register, many of which the public has never even heard of, like the Administrative Conference of the United States, or the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries.

Or how about the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, not to be confused with the Procurement Executive Council or the Federal Acquisition Council, a name change (that probably cost millions) “to provide greater flexibility and a more inclusive reach beyond procurement.”

Maybe the White House should shutter the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee, which, according to the Federal register, “evaluates all stamp proposals.” Or maybe review The Denali Commission, which provides “critical utilities, infrastructure and economic support throughout Alaska.”

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Who would want to get rid of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology, founded “in 1975 by the Statistical and Science Policy Branch … to assist in carrying out SSP/OMB’s role in setting and coordinating statistical policy.” What exactly is statistical policy?

Many of our government’s activities are well-meaning, but perhaps not essential, like the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, which “gives grants to stimulate engagement in business, educational, or cultural exchanges with Japan.” Aren’t we friendly with Japan already?

Similarly, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, which “conducts and promotes objective research to inform public policy and debate” is perhaps unnecessary. We have hundreds of privately-financed think tanks and universities doing “objective” research.

Over time, the federal government has morphed into a gigantic stew of special interest bureaus and agencies promoted by politicians who needed or wanted a favor — often a favor for their home state, in return for a crucial vote. That’s politics, but when there is never a culling of such activities, the stew becomes rancid, turning into an ungovernable mass. That’s where we are now.

The shutdown has sent even about one third of White House staffers home. The good news is that DOGE employees remain on the job. They have work to do.