Several Republicans are calling for the Department of Government Efficiency to take a breather after making a series of “mistakes.”
Elon Musk and a team with little to no government experience in recent weeks have led efforts to overhaul the federal government through massive staff cuts and steps to shutter agencies. Now, members of President Donald Trump’s own party are urging DOGE to stop moving so quickly, citing recent accidental terminations in crucial positions.
Maine Senator Susan Collins told the HuffPost that she believes DOGE needs to slow down because “they're making mistakes.”
“This latest example of individuals who were studying bird flu being fired from the Department of Agriculture is a perfect example,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it had mistakenly fired a number of employees who were working on combatting bird flu. "Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson told NBC News.
A similar series of events transpired with the National Nuclear Security Administration. Dozens of probationary employees were fired last week — days later, some of them were notified they were being reinstated, NBC News reported.
“The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel,” read an email sent to some laid-off NNSA employees obtained by the outlet.
Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon similarly called for DOGE to move less hastily, telling Axios: "Before making cuts rashly, the administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times.”
A number of Republicans have also pointed out how the federal staff layoffs affect their home states.
Referring to workers cut from the FBI, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy wrote on X over the weekend: “I am all for efficiency and ultimately downsizing the federal government, but firing large numbers of new FBI agents is not the way to achieve this. Louisiana specifically benefits from newly hired FBI agents. We need to add to our law enforcement, not take away.”
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski also remarked on how the sweeping cuts are impacting her state, seemingly referring to the estimated 1,000 National Park Service workers who were terminated. “Many of these abrupt terminations will do more harm than good, stunting opportunities in Alaska and leaving holes in our communities,” she said in a post on X last Friday.
She continued: “I share the administration’s goal of reducing the size of the federal government, but this approach is bringing confusion, anxiety, and now trauma to our civil servants…Indiscriminate workforce cuts aren’t efficient and won’t fix the federal budget, but they will hurt good people who have answered the call to public service to do important work for our nation.”
A House Republican also voiced concern about a potential “clash” between the executive and legislative branches over the administration’s efforts to close agencies, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
"I think you're going to see a clash when they...start abolishing [agencies]," the GOP lawmaker said. "Say like USAID, right? We authorized that. That's a creature of Congress."
He added: "If they try to do something like that, then you're going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis."
