DOGE cuts 180,000 federal jobs as Musk controversy intensifies and court challenges mount
The Department of Government Efficiency has eliminated approximately 180,000 federal positions since January, drawing lawsuits from multiple states and a wave of congressional opposition even from within the Republican Party.
US Politics — March 16, 2026
The Department of Government Efficiency, the White House advisory body led by Elon Musk, had overseen the elimination of approximately 180,000 federal government positions by mid-March 2026, according to Office of Personnel Management data — a figure that DOGE said represented significant progress toward its stated goal of reducing the federal workforce by 25%.
The cuts have been concentrated in agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. DOGE published weekly dashboards tracking claimed savings, which it placed at $142 billion in annualised spending reductions, though independent budget analysts disputed the methodology underlying those figures.
Courts have been a constant battleground. Judges in eleven states issued injunctions blocking specific dismissal orders, citing violations of civil service protections and failure to comply with statutory notice and separation requirements. The administration appealed each ruling, and several cases are now before circuit courts of appeal.
Republican opposition has grown louder. Six Republican senators signed a letter to the White House expressing concern that the pace and breadth of cuts were 'undermining the capacity of the federal government to deliver services that our constituents depend on.' The letter specifically mentioned the IRS — whose reduced staffing was projected to decrease tax collection revenue and paradoxically increase the deficit.
Elon Musk himself became a source of controversy distinct from the policy. His public feuds with several Republican senators on X attracted attention, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll in early March found that Musk's favourability rating had fallen to 34%, down from 49% in November 2025.
Democrats used the DOGE cuts to fundraise aggressively and dominate media coverage. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the programme represented 'the most radical dismantling of the public sector in American history, carried out by a billionaire who was never elected to anything.'
Musk, appearing at a White House briefing, dismissed the criticism and said the cuts were 'the beginning, not the end.' He predicted that DOGE's work would result in $1 trillion in savings by the end of 2026 — a projection that the Congressional Budget Office said was 'implausible without legislative action to change statutory entitlement programmes.'
