WaPo: DOGE Has Ground Federal Work To Slow Crawl

The Washington Post reports:

Layers of new red tape are plaguing federal staffers throughout the government under the second Trump administration, stymieing work and delaying simple transactions, according to interviews with more than three dozen federal workers across 19 agencies and records obtained by The Washington Post.

DOGE’s intense scrutiny of federal spending is forcing employees to spend hours justifying even the most basic purchases. New rules mandating review and approval by political appointees are leaving thousands of contracts and projects on ice for months.

Large-scale firings spearheaded by DOGE have cut support offices — especially IT shops — that assisted federal workers with issues ranging from glitching computers to broken desk chairs. And the piecemeal reassignment of staff is causing significant lags in work in some agencies, notably Social Security, as inexperienced workers adjust to new roles.

Read the full article. Per the piece, much of that red tape involves multiple forms sent to multiple departments ascertaining that vendors have promised to hate all the right people.

DOGE vowed to make government more ‘efficient’ — but it’s doing the opposite. New procedures and requirements — some implemented in the name of improving operations — are slowing down federal agencies, by @hannah_natanson https://t.co/oYQpNZ992u

— Dan Eggen (@DanEggenWPost) June 2, 2025