DOGE May Have Run Its Course. Already.

 First:

Tens of thousands" of firings ordered by the Trump administration and tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force violate the law — and some of these workers could be reinstated within days, Government Executive reported on Monday.

"The Office of Special Counsel, the agency responsible for investigating illegal actions taken against federal employees, issued its decision for six employees, each at different agencies," reported senior correspondent Eric Katz. "It has not been made public and was provided to Government Executive by a source within the government. OSC, which did not provide the document to Government Executive, verified its authenticity."

The order only directly applies to those six employees — however, the report noted, it could create a "wide-ranging" precedent, allowing many more workers terminated under the same circumstances to file to be reinstated.

Second:

JUDGE COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY: Is there an administrator of DOGE at the present time?

GOVERNMENT COUNSEL: I don’t know the answer to that

(Pro tip: No, this is not the way you want to answer any question from a federal judge.)

Second, part B:

Judge Kollar-Kotelly grilled counsel for the government on DOGE's command structure.

Counsel repeatedly said he didn't know the answer to her questions.

The judge said the questions are relevant bc she has concerns about whether DOGE is operating constitutionally under the Appointments Clause.

(Trump has been through the “fuck around” phase.

Trump on DOGE: "It has nothing to do with the Constitution." pic.twitter.com/eicMxkEx8z

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 24, 2025

He’s about to enter the “find out” phase. Where, potentially, everything DOGE has done, is undone. Trump thinks only fraud works that way. He’s about to find out.)

Third:

Now, the Missouri lawmaker is defending his message to constituents after nearly 100 residents were sent into a rage when he told them: “God has a plan and a purpose for your life.”

“So, I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available,” Alford said as residents filled the small coffee shop in downtown Belton while dozens more lined the sidewalk outside, according to local media reports.

They all showed up for what devolved into an “extraordinarily heated town hall” Monday, where the MAGA lawmaker praised Trump and stood by the president's DOGE ally Musk, whose federal firings have reached the Kansas City region where Alford's district rests, the Kansas City Star reported.

And the backlash was clear.

“We don’t want your God!” a woman is heard screaming from the crowd in response to his remark. “Our God is Christian!” another yelled.

Videos of the raucous encounter – part of a growing trend of protests to Trump and Musk cuts nationwide – circulating social media show Alford being shouted down during the nearly two-hour back-and-forth.

Alford tried to explain himself later:

And actually it was never a town hall. It was Mondays with mark coffee. We do it regularly. Usually 5-10 show up and we have true conversations to try to solve issues.

— Mark Alford 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@markalfordkc) February 24, 2025

So a normally dull coffee klatsch erupts into an angry crowd shouting from the sidewalk because not everybody can get in.  

Approximately 30,000 residents across the Kansas City metro area are employed by the federal government – and cuts have already been felt, the Star reported. About 100 local IRS agents were let go last week.

“Just because you have a government job doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court,” Alford is quoted as saying at Monday’s event.

Yeah, he needs to stop explaining.