Trump and Musk and DOGE Deleted 18F and That's Bad

I don’t quite know why, but this latest move by President Trump and Elon Musk and their idiotic Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) extra-governmental team is putting me in a mood to write something. I’ve already been physically protesting against this group - to my elected representatives - to little effect.

At the end of last week, Musk laid off the entire 18F team. I have a long-time friend who had worked in that group for years; luckily they’re still at work within the government, having moved recently to an adjacent team in the USDS. Additionally, I have parasocial friends who also worked directly to improve the United States’ digital technology in 18F who are now gone from that service. I know how essential these software engineers and designers were to the functioning of our government’s software and infrastructure.

The reason for their elimination - as stated by Musk - is that they were “a far-left group” within the government because of their work on creating the Internal Revenue Service’s free tax-filing service. A program that literally had the only aim of reducing waste and saving taxpayers money was deemed far-left and then was eliminated for that reason. It’s shameful - to me, as a citizen - alongside the shame I felt last week as I watched the video of Trump and Vance petulantly insult President Zelensky as he begged for the lives of his own citizens.

I think one reason I am anchoring on this 18F removal is that they give me some hope. Here’s their parting message:

We are dedicated to the American public and we’re not done yet.

So may we all remain dedicated and effective.