My book about my time inside DOGE launched last week, and I've watched friends who privately cheer me on go completely silent in public.That’s how toxic the stigma around DOGE has become.
And that stigma is built on a version of events I barely recognize.My experience inside DOGE was almost nothing like what I read about in the mainstream news.The fairest and most balanced coverage I can remember was our interview on Fox News with Bret Baier in March 2025—but let me tell you what it was actually like.As the DOGE lead and Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S.
Department of the Interior, I saw the accusations that we cut everything indiscriminately.That could not be further from the truth.EXCLUSIVE: INSIDE THE SECRETIVE MINE DOGE HELPED DRAG OUT OF A DECADES-OLD BUREAUCRATIC BLACK HOLEAlong with my DOGE colleagues and the incredible leadership of Secretary Doug Burgum, we went through thousands of contracts and grants ourselves and asked the people who knew them best to help us.
Our request was simple: "Defend the spend" and tell us what was "mission critical." If a contract couldn't be defended, or even explained, why were hardworking Americans paying for it? We cut what didn't make sense and made individuals accountable.Then there's the claim that we didn't respect career civil servants.That wasn't my experience either.
I have tremendous respect for the many hardworking, genuine, and intelligent people who serve in government.Many are friends of mine today. THE US HAS A $40 TRILLION DEBT CRISIS.
BILLIONAIRE WARREN BUFFET KNOWS HOW TO SOLVE ITWhat shocked me wasn't the people—it was the system around them: the inefficient organizations, the decades-old technology, and the near-total absence of accountability.Many good people were trapped inside a machine built to resist common sense.Interior Secretary Doug Burgum with President Trump. (Getty)Did we get along with everyone? No.
We were there to challenge the mindset that "this is how it's always been ...