President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to restructure federal agencies and cut bureaucracy could have a major impact on the D.C. area, where the government is the largest employer.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short, Trump announced Tuesday night. Despite its name, the group will function outside of government and not be a government agency.
“These two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
News4 is working to learn more about how DOGE could affect federal employees and the DMV. Here’s what we know so far.
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What is the Department of Government Efficiency and how will it work?
Trump said in his statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems.
It’s not clear exactly how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public. Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work.
The arrangement would likely allow Musk and Ramaswamy to continue working in the private sector and serve without Senate approval.
Trump didn’t immediately provide details about how the two men would work together or who might pay for the operations of the group.
Trump had made clear Musk would likely not hold any kind of full-time position, given his other commitments.
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“I don’t think I can get him full-time because he’s a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. “He said the waste in this country is crazy. And we’re going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter.”
Here are five things to know about Elon Musk.
How many federal employees are there in the D.C. area and what could job cuts mean for the DMV’s Black middle class in particular?
Of more than 2 million full-time federal workers across the U.S., more than 300,000 are concentrated in the D.C. metro region.
For generations of Black residents of the DMV, federal jobs have been a powerful driver of wealth and stability. Federal job cuts could be particularly devastating to Black communities in our region, as the News4 I-Team reported.
More than 18% of federal workers are Black, according to the most recent statistics from the Office of Personnel Management. That’s higher than the proportion of Black Americans that make up the country’s population, at just over 12%.
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Unionized federal employee Aleseia Saunders, a mother of three who works for the Department of Education, told News4 her family constantly worries about changes to the federal workforce.
“What’s going to happen to my household? What’s going to happen to my paycheck? What’s going to happen to my career?” Saunders asked.
Black Americans have been drawn to federal jobs in part because of benefits that have often eluded Black employees in private workplaces, Howard University political science professor Marcus Board previously told News4.
“They have worker protections, federal worker protections, that are guaranteed by the federal government, and so it’s one of the few places where they can be sure that they’re going to be supported, protected and taken care of,” he said.
What do we know about the goals of the Department of Government Efficiency?
The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal government more efficient.
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Musk has said he wants to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, which is more than the discretionary budget of $1.7 trillion. He has provided few details about what he’d like to cut, though he has attacked relatively small recipients of federal money, such as the Education Department and NPR.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in the statement released by Trump’s transition team.
On X, he added: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
Ramaswamy has called for mass layoffs at federal agencies, a tactic that could sidestep legal protections that otherwise insulate the federal civil service from targeted political cuts.
Ramaswamy campaigned for president in the Republican primaries on eliminating federal agencies, and his initial targets included the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Education Department; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the Food and Nutrition Service within the Agriculture Department.
Trump said he wanted the department to help deliver “drastic change.” He compared its ambitions to those of the World War II project to develop atomic weapons.
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump said. “Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time.”
He gave a deadline of July 4, 2026, for the department to conclude its work.
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What does the acronym DOGE reference?
“DOGE” is a nod to a meme and the dogecoin cryptocurrency associated with Musk.
How will the Government Accountability Office interact with the Department of Government Efficiency?
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the main federal government watchdog, indicated it would provide any necessary information to the new entity.
“GAO has cooperated and shared information in the past when presidential or congressional commissions have been established to address the federal government’s programs and operations, as well as fiscal and other challenges. We will take that same approach with any new commissions formed and stand by ready to assist the new Congress and the Executive branch,” Gene Dodaro, United States Comptroller General and head of the GAO, said in part in a statement.
What do Project 2025 and Trump’s previous Schedule F executive order have to do with the Department of Government Efficiency?
Project 2025 is the right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation’s sweeping plan for the incoming president. Its guidebook for Republican presidents has been published every four years for decades.
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The document lays out the return of Trump’s Schedule F executive order, which was reversed by President Joe Biden. It would strip job protections from career officials in policy roles, make it easier to fire civil servants and require loyalty to the president.
Though former Trump officials helped craft Project 2025 and the plan praises Trump’s prior administration, the president-elect has distanced himself from the plan. He said in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that he had not read the document and will not read it.
The News4 I-Team asked experts on both sides of Project 2025 how the dismantling would affect the D.C. area’s Black middle class. News4’s Tracee Wilkins reports.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
Facing a possible overhaul to the federal workforce, Department of Housing and Urban Development employee Ashaki Robinson previously told News4 she loves her job and doesn’t want to even consider leaving it.
“It has created such a stability. People talk about my ‘good government job.’ My good government job has paid for a lot of things,” she said.
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This article includes reporting by NBC News’ David Ingram and Vaughn Hillyard, The Associated Press’ Colleen Long and Jill Colvin, and NBC Washington’s Tracee Wilkins and Caroline Tucker
WASHINGTON – A sunny, dry and mild Tuesday for the Washington, D.C. region, with highs near 71 degrees.
What we know:
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The day starts chilly, with temperatures in the 40s and a few upper 30s in the area. Plenty of sunshine with some light winds that will make for a pleasant afternoon. FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda says it’s a good day for outdoor plans, with temperatures climbing into the low 70s by mid‑afternoon. Winds may turn a bit breezy overnight, but conditions will remain cool and dry.
Rain chances return Wednesday as clouds increase. The morning and early afternoon look mostly dry, but the evening commute could turn soggy on Wednesday. Grenda says to expect two rounds of showers tomorrow – one around 5 p.m. and another after sunset – with a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms. The severe weather threat appears to be limited.
Behind the system, Thursday turns cooler and breezy, with highs only in the mid‑60s. Temperatures rebound into the 70s Friday before a warm, more humid stretch arrives over the weekend. Highs could reach the 80s by Saturday and Sunday and the 90s by Monday.
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DC weather: Sunny, mild Tuesday; showers return Wednesday
The Source: Information in this article comes from the FOX 5 Weather Team and the National Weather Service.
With a blue sky above the Lincoln Memorial, people walk along the reflection pool in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2023.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
A nonprofit is suing the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at Washington D.C.’s National Mall, and to paint the pool’s basin blue.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy organization. In the suit, TCLF is asking a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration failed to have the project reviewed federally, as is dictated by the National Historic Preservation Act.
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President Trump revealed his plans for the pool do-over last month in “American flag blue,” saying that the project would take one week and $2 million, and that it would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. A few days later on Truth Social, the president posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a gingham bikini, lounging in the water with the Washington National Monument at the rear. (Swimming in the reflecting pool is prohibited by federal law.)
In a YouTube video posted by the White House on April 23, Trump called the pool “filthy dirty” and said it “leaked like a sieve.” In that video, Trump said he was going to call three companies that he has worked with in the past – “all they do is swimming pools” – and say, “Give me a good price.”
The New York Times reported last Friday that the contract for the reflecting pool’s resurfacing was awarded in a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which previously has never held any federal contracts.
An employee at the Atlantic Industrial Coatings confirmed in a telephone call on Monday that it has been contracted for this project, but referred all other questions to the Department of the Interior.
The Times reported on Monday that the final cost of the project could be upward of $13 million, per documents it says it has obtained. The Department of the Interior did not confirm the cost of the project, but wrote: “The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th.”
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In an unsigned statement emailed to NPR Monday afternoon, the Interior Department wrote: “The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations. The choice of American Flag Blue will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. NPS is also investing in a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and will now have a dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds’ from wildlife. The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come.”
Critics of the project, including TCLF, don’t share that vision – and are taking particular umbrage at the color.
“The reflecting pool should not be viewed in isolation; it is part of the larger ensemble of designed landscapes that comprise the National Mall,” Charles A. Birnbaum, the president and CEO of TCLF, said in a statement emailed to NPR Monday. “The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”
The National Park Service regularly cleans out algae, goose droppings and other detritus from the reflecting pool. The last major renovation of the reflecting pool, which included the installation of a new circulation and filtration system, took place during the Obama administration at a reported cost of $34 million.
Before founding TCLF in 2008, Birnbaum served for 15 years as the coordinator of the Historic Landscape Initiative for the National Park Service.
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TCLF has another open lawsuit against the federal administration: it is one of eight cultural and architecture groups currently suing President Trump and the Kennedy Center board over the planned renovations of the complex, which are planned to start in July.
The memorial service will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at 1 p.m.
A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. (Roanoke Police Department)
WASHINGTON D.C. – A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon.
K-9 Knox died in the line of duty last year after he was accidentally hit by a police vehicle while pursuing a suspect involved in a stolen vehicle incident. He was a 3-year-old German shepherd and had served as a narcotics detection and patrol apprehension K-9 for the Roanoke Police Department since May 2023.
The memorial service will include a wreath-laying ceremony and will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 1 p.m. The event will open with a musical performance by Frank Ray, and the guest speaker will be Deputy Jared Hahn of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
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The San Antonio Police Department Blue Line Choir will sing the national anthem, and the Emerald Society Pipes & Drums band will also perform.
