By LINDA BOYLE
By executive order, President Donald Trump established DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, with the goal of slashing government fraud, waste, and abuse and making decisions based on the America First agenda.
This function was not just newly established by President Trump. It had a forerunner.
It was known as the “United States Digital Services,” created during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Elon Musk leads this department today, and he is causing an incredible amount of hysteria from the DC swamp.
DOGE recently announced that $59 million in FEMA funding went to New York City to house illegal aliens in luxury hotels. No wonder FEMA is looking for more money to help the people in North Carolina who were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Thankfully, the funding to New York City for housing illegals has stopped. And the federal government has clawed back that $59 million.
One of the biggest areas of waste was the $10 billion managed by FEMA during the Covid plandemic. A report on this waste was released by the Office of Inspector General two days after the DOGE announcement concerning hotels in NYC.
Incredibly, $1.5 billion was spent on the medical staff in just one state, an additional $8.1 billion was spent on ”demand” costs, and another $32.8 million wasted on ”incorrect payments.” Money just flew out the door without enough checks and balances to ensure it was used properly.
There were checks written with no paperwork to validate the cost. Nor was there much thought given to the best use of limited resources.
Now there is discussion now on how to claw back more of that money. It will be interesting to see what happens in the near term.
My favorite is when Dr. Anthony Fauci was discovered by DOGE. Fauci is the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 1984-2022, and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden during the Covid panic in 2021-2022.
After President Trump deleted Fauci’s taxpayer-funded security detail (which cost us taxpayers $15 million), DOGE discovered the National Institute of Health was ready to hand out $168,000 for the Fauci museum exhibit. DOGE ended that mismanagement of taxpayer monies.
It seems like poetic justice to take money back from the official face the Covid-19 debacle.
I see light at the end of the tunnel with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. He will put safeguards in place and ensure all of us are aware of the risks and benefits of vaccines.
And he will work to Make America Healthy Again by ensuring our food supply is not harmful to our children.
This will go a long way toward getting trust back between the people and their healthcare providers.
It’s about time.
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
