Federal Jobs Cut, Spending Rises: Inside DCs Efficiency Overhaul and Budget Challenges in 2025

Listeners, welcome to your Weekly Gov Efficiency Update: Is DC still pumping out your tax money? As DOGE wraps up, the Cato Institute reports a mixed scorecard. The Department of Government Efficiency slashed federal employment by 271,000 jobs—a whopping nine percent drop in under ten months, the largest peacetime workforce cut on record since World War II demobilizations. Federal jobs plummeted back to 2014 levels, with a massive October buyout driving over 150,000 exits. Elon Musk called it only a little bit successful, and Cato agrees: workforce cuts are impressive but saved just tens of billions annually since salaries are only eight percent of spending. Yet spending? It ballooned. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service shows $7.6 trillion outlaid in 2025's first eleven months—$248 billion more than 2024, matching or exceeding Congressional Budget Office projections. No DOGE-era dip appears in the charts; entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, on congressional autopilot, drove the surge. WTOP News echoes this: cuts didn't touch the $250 billion spending hike, as major programs remain untouched without Congress. Bright spots emerge elsewhere. The House just passed the Federal Supervisor Education Act and SAMOSA Act, per House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, mandating better training and software audits to curb duplicative IT waste—over $100 billion yearly. NSF announced realignments for efficiency, and the National Defense Authorization Act hit $901 billion while eyeing research tweaks. But with NDAA signing and ongoing outlays, questions linger: Is DC trimming fat or just shifting deck chairs? DOGE proved bureaucracy can shrink fast, yet tax dollars flow freer than ever. Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more straight talk. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.