I wanted DOGE to succeed. But this exchange sums up its legacy. “You don’t regret that people may have lost important income?” “It was more important to reduce the federal deficit from $2 trillion to close to $0” “Did you reduce the deficit?” “No”

The government isn’t a jobs program. I’m not at all opposed to cutting staff. But DOGE tried to slash the workforce without reforming the regulatory bloat, so we have a less efficient government for the same price. It also made culture-war cuts that have no impact on the deficit.