WASHINGTON — At least three rallies against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were held on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. even as reports started filtering in that 21 members of the agency had announced their resignation.
The Associated Press was the first to report that the staffers had resigned in a letter that stated, “We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services.” “We will not use our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE’s actions.”
DOGE efforts are overseen by White House advisor Elon Musk, who took to X, his own social media platform, and posted, “More fake news from Associated Propaganda.” These were Democratic political holdovers who refused to return to office. “They would have been fired if they had not resigned.”
Hours before the news broke, former federal employees who had recently been laid off went directly to the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill to complain.
“I hope that by being here today, senators will have a better idea of who is actually affected,” said protester Samuel Port.
Arabella Crawford, who was also among the protesters, said she was still unsure why her position was eliminated.
“I was laid off without the knowledge of my manager,” she told me. “We are still not sure who laid us off because as far as we know there is no administrator at DOGE.”
Protesters staged the second anti-DOGE rally in six days outside the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) building. The rally was organised by unions representing healthcare workers, scientists, and researchers.
“We are mad scientists,” the audience chanted as speakers expressed their outrage at recent cuts to the medical field.
“The question is whether people will live or die. These cuts mean that cancer patients are without hope, Alzheimer’s is stealing more loved ones, diabetes goes untreated, and heart disease claims lives that could have been saved,” said Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors. “It means doctors and scientists forced to abandon research that could cure the next deadly disease.”
Emilya Ventriglia, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stated that the changes under DOGE go beyond qualified people losing their jobs.
“We are currently under so many freezes that prevent American taxpayers from receiving the medical advancements they paid for. “This is theft,” she informed the audience.
President Donald Trump supports DOGE’s work, and on Monday, he praised Musk for a weekend email sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requiring federal employees to list five accomplishments from the previous week. Musk then stated on X that failure to respond would be interpreted as a resignation.
However, on Monday afternoon, the OPM reversed Musk’s ultimatum and updated the guidance, stating that responses to the email were optional and that failure to respond would not be considered a resignation.
Again, Musk took to X that afternoon, writing, “Subject to the President’s discretion, they will be given another chance.” Failure to respond a second time will lead to termination.
The legality of the OPM email will be considered at a hearing in a California federal court on Thursday, following a lawsuit filed by several unions representing federal employees.
More than one million federal employees responded to the email, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.
