A fresh face has made her mark, as the White House announced Amy Gleason, a government employee, as the interim head of the government’s economic rationalization team this Tuesday. Gleason carries with her experience from the U.S. Digital Service unit under the inaugural Trump administration, where she concentrated on the nationwide pandemic response and digital healthcare records.
In its evolution, the previously termed USDS has morphed into what we now know as the Department of Government Efficiency. This entity, however, is cloaked in secrecy and entangled in a multitude of legal actions. The numerous litigations question the legitimacy, efficacy and guidance of the department. Meanwhile, several federal workers find themselves jobless and an approximate two dozen disheartened employees voluntarily resign.
Despite the turbulence, ambiguity continued to reign regarding the identity of the department’s chief. This confusion escalated on Tuesday morning when the identification of a temporary head was artfully dodged by the White House press secretary. As the day continued, Gleason’s name was divulged, albeit, whilst she was reportedly indulging in some downtime and uninformed of her impending disclosure.
An Oversight Committee meeting of the House held on Tuesday witnessed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizing federal workers, downplaying their efforts as not constituting ‘real jobs’ and alleging they were undeserving of their earnings. This diatribe came in reaction to the circulating discontent and bewilderment. Notably, Greene, who is herself the beneficiary of an income financed by the taxpayer, heads the subcommittee supervising the department.
The maverick entrepreneur, Musk, has found himself at the heart of many debates, being tagged as a ‘Special Government Employee’ and earning no salary for his contributions to the department. Yet, the label seems to be as nebulous as the department’s overarching aim. As per the federal code of ethics, a Special Government Employee is intended to serve a maximum of 130 days within a 365-day period.
However, the time limit issued by Trump to achieve their budget reduction targets surpasses this 130-day constraint. Adding to the confusion, the executive order issued by the President which laid the foundation for ‘the department’s Agenda’ encompassed another deadline that, unnoticed, has now elapsed—this was meant to establish a team for each federal department.
The rigid 30-day timeframe specified by the executive order has already run its course, and information regarding these supervisory teams remains conspicuously absent from the public domain. There exists ambiguity over whether these prescribed roles are intended to be filled by fresh recruits, or if current incumbents will accrue additional responsibilities on top of their existing roles.
At a meeting, Musk acknowledged potential pitfalls, conceding ‘we will make mistakes. We won’t be perfect…’ He gave an instance of a hiccup with USAID – the short-lived cancellation of an Ebola prevention initiative.