100 Harms in 100 Days

A snapshot of the turmoil and dysfunction initiated by the president and Elon Musk's DOGE.

A March 1 protest against Elon Musk’s DOGE actions. (Christopher Penler/Shutterstock.com)

The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second administration have been marked by chaos, demolition and waste, with thousands of civil servants arbitrarily fired and countless critical services dealing with everything from public health to food for the poor disrupted, supposedly in the name of saving money and greater efficiency.

There is no doubt that the federal government needs reform and modernization, but it should be done deliberatively, not with a sledgehammer, within the bounds of the law and with assurances that important services will remain intact and will be delivered in ways that best serve the public good.

Seeking to take stock of the breathtaking destruction, my organization, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, has compiled a list that we are calling “100 Harms in 100 Days,” a snapshot of the turmoil and dysfunction initiated by the president and his ill-named Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk.

Here is just a small sample of the damage that has taken place in a little over three months:

• The Department of Agriculture slashed more than $1 billion from two initiatives that supported food programs throughout the country, leaving food banks, school systems and local farmers reeling.

• Buyouts and firings at the National Nuclear Security Administration have resulted in the loss of experts on issues such as arms control, the safe transportation of nuclear materials and the maintenance and modernization of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal.

• Layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resulted in the shut-down of work at the only facility in the country that can test and track the spread of viral hepatitis outbreaks that kill thousands of Americans every year.

• The firing of hundreds of Department of Transportation employees is expected to slow down projects focused on reducing highway deaths, recalling defective cars and protecting natural gas pipelines.

• Teams of Food and Drug Administration scientists monitoring medical devices ranging from pathogen tests to AI cancer detection software to diabetes monitors and brain implants experienced major staff cuts, leaving remaining staff worried that the safety of devices could be compromised.

• Staffing reductions at the Department of Education are causing problems in the federal financial aid system, with calls going unanswered, outages on systems that disburse student loans and grants, and university aid officers facing disruptions that are slowing down their ability to calculate financial aid offers and provide timely answers.

• Hundreds of employees have been laid off from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with many of the reductions coming from within the National Weather Service, which is responsible for forecasting hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, wildfires, and other dangerous weather events and communicating that information to the public.

• Experts from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security working on safeguards to protect elections from cyberattacks or other attempts to disrupt voting systems by the likes of Russia, China and Iran have been reassigned or fired.

There is so much more that it is mindboggling.

The elimination of IRS staff will cost the government hundreds of billions in tax revenue, the decimation of PEPFAR, the global AIDS initiative, could result in the loss of some 1.6 million lives overseas every year, and staff reductions at the Social Security Administration are slowing service to seniors and the disabled.

And on top of all this, the U.S. Agency for International Development that supplies assistance to millions of people all over the world has been dismantled, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that guards against fraudulent business activity has been handcuffed, and cutting-edge biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health has been disrupted or halted.

Many of the president’s actions are being challenged in the courts, but much of the destruction will be hard to reverse, even if the lawsuits are successful, and will end up costing, not saving, taxpayers billions of dollars and having dire consequences for the public.

It seems to have escaped those in power that they are renters, not owners, of our government that belongs to the American people. They are in office on a temporary basis, tasked with the responsibility to be good stewards of the public trust, but they appear bent on destroying, not building, a better government where the public interest is paramount.

Many of the administration’s damaging actions remain hidden, but what is in public view is so overwhelming that it is tempting to just tune it all out.

It is critical, however, that the public pay close attention and hold members of Congress and the White House accountable. There are many constructive ways to make the government more effective and save taxpayer money without tearing it all down and causing such great harm.

Max Stier is the founding president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, an organization focused on building a better government and a stronger democracy.

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