Plus, an economic warning sign for Trump in the polls
In today's edition, Jonathan Allen talks to federal workers about Elon Musk's slash-and-burn approach to the government. Plus, Steve Kornacki digs into how the public is viewing President Donald Trump's handling of the economy in the early weeks of his tenure. — Adam Wollner Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. |
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'Absolute chaos': DOGE sows turmoil in its quest for 'efficiency' |
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President Donald Trump promised to make the federal government more efficient — to do more with less. He even deputized billionaire Elon Musk to be the face of a new Department of Government Efficiency. But critics say Musk's chainsaw approach to slashing government programs, contracts and jobs is having the opposite effect, sowing such confusion that it has hamstrung the bureaucracy's ability to serve the public and carry out key parts of Trump's own agenda. "It's leading to paralysis, and nothing is getting done," said one Veterans Affairs official who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The official described "absolute chaos" at the agency, with even Trump political appointees afraid to misstep and incur a backlash from either the White House or the public. "The best employees are starting to look elsewhere," the official added. "I can't overemphasize that enough." Trump and other White House officials say that the president is thrilled with Musk's work and wants him to be more aggressive. But there are signs of pushback within the political ranks of the administration, where Cabinet secretaries risk losing the civil servants best equipped to carry out critical government functions, and rank-and-file civil servants say exercises in navel-gazing have become a distraction from important work. In short, running the government can be harder than it looks. Email ultimatum fallout: Several veteran federal workers who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity said that managers and employers at agencies spent hours on Monday determining how to deal with Musk's email directive — beyond just the time it took to assemble bulleted lists. “Probably spent at least 30-60 minutes sharing thoughts about how to approach it with other federal employee friends from different agencies," said one of the workers who asked that her agency not be named. “Probably spent 60 minutes thinking about how it might be interpreted and also looked at the banned words to make sure I did not include those." The employee was referring to words — such as "diversity" — that the administration is averse to. "I spent at least 30 minutes drafting [and] shared it with my manager via email before sending it,” she said. Read more → |
| Twenty-one civil service employees resigned en masse from DOGE, saying in a joint letter that they refused to use their technical expertise to "compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services." The White House said Musk will participate in Trump’s first Cabinet meeting tomorrow. And the White House confirmed that Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of DOGE. Her LinkedIn profile has her listed as the senior adviser at the U.S. Digital Service since January, the agency that was morphed into DOGE. After facing blowback from constituents at town halls, several House Republicans are seeking more information and compassion from the DOGE effort. |
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What to know from the Trump presidency today |
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| An economic warning sign for Trump in the polls |
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A flood of new polls this past week offered a snapshot of how Americans are feeling about Donald Trump’s second term. Averaging them together, 46% approve of his job performance and 50% disapprove. That’s hardly great by any historical standard, but also largely in line with what he posted during his first term (and actually at the higher end of that range). But there was one noticeable difference: the economy. During his first term, this issue was a rare bright spot for Trump in polling. Over his four years in office, he averaged a 49% approval rating for his handling of the economy, with 41% disapproving, according to NBC News’ polling. But in recent surveys, those numbers are now reversed. |
The difference may not be massive in raw numbers, but it becomes more significant when you consider that Trump’s average first-term rating on the economy outpaced all of his predecessors’ this century. |
Trump’s 49%-41% rating on the economy was much higher than his overall average job approval rating (44%-53%). And the contrast between his first-term economic numbers and those of his successor, Joe Biden, provided Trump with a key advantage during last year’s campaign. In the early part of his second term, though, Trump’s numbers are in line with those of Barack Obama and George W. Bush, both of whom were weighted down by the economic upheaval of 2007 and 2008 and its lingering effects. Theadministration’s argument is that Trump has inherited a rough situation from Biden and that, in time, the economy will gain strength. But for now, Democrats are sensing a potentially potent political weapon to use against Trump and the GOP in this fall’s off-year elections and next year’s midterms. If there’s a silver lining for Trump and his party in his current ratings, it’s that he also started out slow during his first term, posting his worst economic numbers during his initial months in office. Within a year, though, he was firmly in positive territory, something that could certainly happen again. But if Trump’s numbers remain where they are, or decline further, this could present a political opening for Democrats that they didn’t have the first time he was president. |
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🗞️ Today's other top stories |
☑️ On the floor: House Speaker Mike Johnson is plowing forward with a vote as early as this evening on a budget resolution to advance Trump’s legislative agenda even as he is still working to sway the holdouts. Read more → ⚖️ SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court threw out Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip’s murder conviction because a key witness lied in court and prosecutors withheld information about him. It was a rare victory for a death row inmate at the conservative court. Read more → ⚖️ More from the courts: Rudy Giuliani has “fully satisfied” a judgement against him after defaming two former Georgia election workers by falsely accusing them of election fraud after the 2020 presidential contest. Read more →
🔀 Across the aisle: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs became one of the first Democratic governors to partner with the Trump administration on immigration after she signed an executive order directing state and local law enforcement to partner with Customs and Border Protection to prevent border crimes. Read more →
💧 Testing the water: Utah could become the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems if GOP Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill to prohibit the addition of the tooth decay-fighting mineral. Read more →
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Watch: Fired federal workers were told their termination is in the government's 'best interest' |
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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. Thanks to Faith Wardwell for helping compile today's newsletter.
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