When US President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January 2025, one of his first promises was to cut “billions and billions of dollars” in government spending and strengthen the powers of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk. The department, then led by Musk, was responsible for eliminating programs and eliminating federal workers deemed “wasteful.”
But now, a year later, after Trump put Musk in charge of removing federal workers, the move is limiting the U.S. government’s ability to prepare for domestic emergencies, monitor terrorist threats, guard the country against cyberattacks and relay information from the U.S. to Iran and quickly help U.S. citizens stranded abroad, CNN officials said.
DOGE’s cuts were “too aggressive, too fast, too soon”
Trump’s plan to create a new department solely responsible for laying off federal workers has long been criticized by both Democrats and some Republicans, who warned the cuts were “too aggressive, too fast, too soon,” said Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
Critics argued that the cuts hurt the U.S. at home and abroad. They are now under investigation nearly a year after Musk left the department as the US launched strikes on Iran, sparking a war that has plunged the Middle East region into renewed military confrontation.
Read also | Trump Warns of Hitting Iran Harder if Oil Blockade Happens; Tehran responds
Military funding is not affected by the DOGE cuts
Fitzpatrick said he opposes DOGE’s approach, which uses a “sledgehammer” against federal agencies and potentially threatens national security. The report suggests that while military funding for the Iran war has remained largely intact, DOGE has proposed canceling some Pentagon programs. But lawmakers are now debating the need for additional funding that could give the US Defense Department billions of dollars more for the war, which began 11 days ago.
The Trump administration blames Democrats for being unprepared
The Trump administration and Republicans have argued that Democrats are responsible for weakening the government’s threat preparedness by not funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has been shut down amid a political dispute over who is to blame.
“Despite the Democrats’ decision to close the Department of Homeland Security, the Trump administration is working diligently to ensure that the government’s security systems continue to operate at the highest level,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Read also | Elon Musk says Trump’s DOGE role has set his company back
Republicans support Trump’s DOGE cuts
However, several Republicans supported the Trump administration’s decision to cut DOGE funding, adding that the impact of the cuts on the government’s response to the war is being overstated. According to GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the State Department and related national security budgets, DOGE only cut waste and the move did not affect Washington’s ability to go to war with Tehran. Diaz-Balart added that the spending bill, which Trump helped pass in Congress, increased funding for America’s allies to help them counter China and Iran.
Americans stranded in the Middle East blame the US government
Days after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, their embassies in the Middle East, particularly Jerusalem, advised Americans to leave the country; however, it added that the US government is unable to help them at this time. In an interview with CNN, former State Department officials attributed the confusion and frustration Americans faced to the agency’s reduced ability to respond quickly and clearly to crises after last year’s staffing and budget cuts.
Read also | US-Iran conflict: Americans in Middle East rage at government over inadequate evacuation
A former official with more than a decade of experience in evacuation operations said the administration had fired workers with crisis expertise, leaving the government without enough experienced personnel to handle the growing and large-scale crisis.
However, as expected, the US State Department rejected claims that the reduction in force (RIF) affected the country’s ability to help stranded US citizens in the Middle East.
Is the US facing domestic problems?
The DOGE reduction also raised concerns about the United States’ preparedness to deal with possible retaliatory attacks by Iran or Iran-backed groups on American soil. Cuts in cybersecurity staff and resources at DHS have reduced the amount of information shared with critical infrastructure companies about potential Iranian hacker threats compared to similar situations in previous years, according to current and former U.S. officials and industry executives.
The FBI removed agents who were monitoring threats from Iran
Days before the US launched military operations in Tehran, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel removed several counterintelligence agents who were monitoring threats from Iran. The move is now also being explored alongside the DOGE cuts.
