James O’Keefe: Some Government Workers Just Not Doing Much

Is the photo above an image of the government workers who aren’t doing much of anything? Yes and no. If you think Democrats haven’t accomplished much, especially in the last 3 week, you won’t get any argument from me. However, the particular type of do-nothing government worker this post is about isn’t Chuck Schumer, it’s the bureaucrats working in the building behind him in that photo, the Treasury Department.

James O’Keefe just released a new sting video featuring Nathaniel Johnson, a US Treasury Dept. policy advisor who confessed to his undercover date that he knows some government employees who don’t do much of anything. “There are people that I know who have been working for the government for, like, 40 years and they don’t do much,” he said. 

O’KEEFE INSIDE THE TREASURY: Policy Advisor at US Treasury Confesses He ‘Knows a Few’ Officials Who “Don’t Do Their Jobs” and Are Defying @DOGE: “No One’s Quitting Because Everyone’s Dug in Their Feet;” Claims Layoffs Are Because “All He [Musk] Wants Is More Money” pic.twitter.com/BvHYGJpf18

— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 12, 2025

I spoke to someone last week who has worked for a series of big government agencies. They told me that workers at one agency in particular were frequently not doing much of anything, though they had a better experience at other agencies they have worked for.

But I don’t need anyone to tell me that government workers are frequently not doing much. As I’ve said before, I spent 11 years working for the Social Security Administration and there were lots of employees there who could not possibly have held down any other job. They would routinely miss work. When they did show up they were frequently not at their desks or not working on anything especially quickly. Abuse of the system was routine, even among some of the higher level employees. Some of these folks put in about a 4 hour day of actual work most days but the union did its best to make sure no one was ever fired for any reason.

We have needed a DOGE-style investigation of these agencies for decades. The fact that it is finally happening may turn out to be the most important thing Trump accomplishes in his 2nd term. 

At least it could be if he’s allowed to do it. But obviously we have a very left-wing judge who seems intent on slowing or stopping DOGE. I think it’s likely his efforts will be overturned eventually but as President Trump said yesterday, he’s slowing the momentum which isn’t helpful.

Getting back to Chuck Schumer, this is clearly what Democrats want. They want those do-nothing employees, all of whom are likely to be members in good standing of some government union, to keep their jobs forever despite not getting much done. The bureaucracy and the unions are a jobs program for their voters and supporters. They will do and say anything to protect them. 

Stacked up against these priorities, a massive federal debt and the possibility of achieving balanced budget doesn’t move the needle for Schumer and his fellow elected Democrats. In fact, that may be the thing that frightens them most about DOGE. If they don’t stop this and it succeeds, they will have some awkward explaining to do as to why they worked so hard to oppose brining the budget under control.