Apr 5, 2025 By Dave Ball 4 min read

Fellow op-ed contributor Gary Stout recently referenced my assertion that “the Democratic Party is hurtling toward irrelevance” and acknowledged that I had provided evidence to support this claim. So far, so good.

However, Stout then veered off course, alleging that “Republicans gleefully support Donald Trump’s multi-pronged attack on the valuable services provided by the federal government and his disdain for the rule of law.” Such claims highlight how detached Stout and his fellow Democrats have become from reality.

Let’s examine the assertion that Trump is attacking essential federal services. This is a familiar Democratic tactic – fear-mongering designed to incite panic before facts are established. No final budget has been approved, and negotiations are ongoing. Declaring disaster before knowing what is being proposed is not only premature but also misleading.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has not targeted any “valuable services.” Its mission is clear: to eliminate fraud, waste, inefficiency, and financial mismanagement. Are Democrats seriously arguing that these should be preserved? It is taxpayer money being squandered or misappropriated. If Democrats insist on defending these practices, it’s no wonder they are losing credibility.

In just 10 weeks, DOGE has uncovered staggering levels of waste and fraud. Constitutional and essential government functions have been retained, with some realigned for greater efficiency. Fraudulent contracts have been canceled, bloated agencies downsized, and unnecessary expenditures cut. The projected savings to date exceed $140 billion – and counting.

Consider a few egregious examples:

One division of the Treasury Department reportedly disbursed $4.7 trillion through a single line item without a Treasury Account Symbol (TAS), meaning nearly 70% of all federal spending was unaccounted for. The failure to track such an astronomical sum should result in mass firings at the Treasury Department and, where appropriate, criminal prosecutions.

DOGE has deactivated 200,000 government credit cards after discovering 4.6 million active accounts, a shocking number given the total federal workforce is about 3 million employees. With spending limits of $10,000 per month per card and little oversight, the potential for abuse is immense. Where did the money spent on these cards go? H

DOGE canceled a Veterans Affairs contract for maintenance of its website that was costing $380,000 a week. The same work is now being done by a single VA employee utilizing 10 hours a week.

And the list continues with these reports:

$60 billion in misspent Medicare and Medicaid funds.

$20 billion in erroneous tax credits.

$10 billion in improper food assistance payments.

$2 billion in improper Social Security payments in a single year.

Additionally, DOGE says it has uncovered five million Social Security numbers issued to illegal immigrants, granting access to benefits fraudulently. Many recipients were also found on voter rolls, and some are alleged to have voted. Further audits led to the removal of seven million individuals over 120 years old and 20 million deceased individuals from Social Security records. How many of these were also on voter rolls remains unknown.

Yes, agencies have been closed, and employees have been laid off. But if these departments were inefficient, redundant, or corrupt, why should they have been preserved? Essential services remain intact while unnecessary bureaucracies are being streamlined or reassigned. The federal government exists to serve the American people, not as a taxpayer-funded employment program or a conduit for illicit financial dealings.

And how have Democrats responded to these revelations? Not with outrage over fraud and waste, nor with calls for accountability. Instead, they have resorted to obstruction, filing hundreds of frivolous lawsuits in front of handpicked activist judges. They have appeared on television spewing profanity rather than offering solutions. They have even encouraged protests, with mobs targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles for vandalism. This is not the behavior of a serious political party; it is the tantrum of a group unprepared to govern responsibly.

If the Democratic Party wishes to remain relevant, it must focus on addressing the real problems that DOGE has uncovered rather than engaging in baseless attacks and obstruction. Until then, the party’s decline into irrelevance will only accelerate.

Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.