🐾 DOGE Trackers

☀️ April 11, 2025 ☀️

🐾 Now Let’s Sic ‘Em! 🐾

DOGE just gutted the safety team inside the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which had been investigating Tesla’s self-driving software.

Officially, the dismissals were labeled as “performance-related,” but current and former employees say that’s a tall tail.

This is a direct hit to the agency’s ability to regulate self-driving cars, which comes at a time when Tesla is pushing hard to launch a fleet of driverless “cybercabs” without steering wheels or pedals. To do that, it needs a regulatory exemption from NHTSA — the very agency that DOGE just weakened.

NHTSA still has eight active investigations into Tesla, and five are tied to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Not to mention that there are more than 10,000 public complaints about Tesla’s driver-assist features. A former employee said, “There’s a clear conflict of interest in allowing someone with a business interest influence over appointments and policy at the agency regulating them.”

But this tactic fits the overall DOGE pattern, and Musk and his companies have a track record of lashing out at regulators who get in the way — just like the FAA and FCC got targeted in the past to benefit SpaceX.

Loose Leash. DOGE Is Getting Audited (Kinda).

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is now officially investigating DOGE!

BUT. And it’s a big BUTT. Don’t get too excited just yet.

Because at this point, so many DOGE bros have been embedded throughout every federal agency — including Treasury, Labor, Social Security, and more — and are operating with little or no oversight and full access to sensitive data.

Therefore, this audit, which should supposedly evaluate whether DOGE has violated data privacy laws or misused access, could be tainted from the outset. Because the GAO will be relying on info from the very agencies that have already been penetrated by DOGE teams and will be in control of the data and info being communicated to the auditors.

Behind closed doors, federal staffers are describing chaos: DOGE operatives with no real credentials, accessing pay systems, skimming grant data, even with potential write access to Treasury code. One official said it feels like “knowing you have hackers on your network, but nobody lets you do anything about it.”

Records show DOGE affiliates have been granted logins to federal databases and tools used to prevent data loss and flag insider threats — raising fears they could modify systems or siphon data for unknown uses.

The GAO is trying to trace what they touched, what access they had, and what rules (if any) were followed. And yet, the GAO still hasn’t confirmed when or if the full scope of the audit will be revealed. Even then, will the findings be credible given the nature of the audit?

DOGE Trackers. New Tools Monitor DOGE’s Purported Cuts and Claims.

The Center for American Progress has put together a comprehensive, interactive, searchable map that shows where DOGE cuts are landing across the country — down to the city, state, and congressional district levels.

From terminated leases on federal buildings to slashed grants for education, health care, food programs, and mine safety, this tool helps make sense of what DOGE is really doing to local communities.

DOGE's own reporting site has been a mess — riddled with errors, omissions, and vague entries—so CAP stepped in to track the real-world impact of Trump’s chaotic cost-cutting spree.

This interactive tool offers a clearer view of the damage, especially on the grants and leases DOGE has tried to quietly phase out. It’s built for the public to use, update, and hold power accountable — because these cuts aren’t abstract. They hit real places, real programs, and real people.

Similarly, Judd Legum’s Popular Info has created a different kind of DOGE Tracker focused on verifying claims on DOGE’s infamous “wall of receipts.” Because, despite claims of transparency, it turns out that there are tons of errors, misattributions, and obfuscations when it comes to verifying anything that Musk, the Administration, or even the Wall of Receipts reports.

For example, in the above post by Legum, he points out that DOGE’s grand total in savings claims suddenly jumped $10 million overnight, and yet, the actual line items on the Wall of Receipts remained the same. So, without evidence, DOGE seems to have arbitrarily upped the numbers.

Beyond that, it’s notable that Legum has only been able to verify a paltry $11.7 billion in savings, which is a fraction of the numbers Musk and others have been touting.

And of course, all of these purported savings — legit or otherwise — don’t take into account the new costs incurred by DOGE’s reckless methods. For example, cutting the staff at the IRS might objectively save money on today’s bottom line, but that hasty and short-sighted move will also mean that tax revenue will drop and fraud will increase because the IRS is under-staffed.

So, on balance, who’s to say if DOGE is really saving any money at all?

"Treasury Secretary Wants Fired Federal Workers To Take Factory Jobs"
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sparked fury by suggesting that all the federal workers that are being fired en masse by DOGE could simply switch careers and take factory jobs created by Trump’s tariffs. "So what we are doing: on one side, the president is reordering trade. On the other side, we’re shedding excess labor in the federal government and bringing down federal borrowings. And then on the other side, that will give us the labor we need for the new manufacturing." Wow. Just… Wow. So is this… Stupid? Insulting? Saying the quiet part out loud? Answer: All of the above.

“Judge: Newsmax Defamed Dominion, Now Faces $1.6 Billion Reckoning”
Wait, what year is this again…? A Delaware judge ruled that Newsmax published over a dozen false and defamatory claims about Dominion Voting Systems after the 2020 election, repeating debunked conspiracy theories that Dominion helped rig the results. Now, a jury will decide if Newsmax acted with “willful and wanton” disregard — which might lead to major punitive damages to the tune of $1.6 billion. Flash Forward to next year when Elon Musk buys the bankrupt Newsmax. Mmhmm.

“Labor Secretary Parties While DOGE Slashes Grants”
Let them eat cake…? In the wake of DOGE slashing over $500 million from the Labor Department — including funding to combat child labor — Trump’s Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer threw herself a lavish birthday bash at agency’s HQ. Photos show cocktail tables, wine, and her face on multiple TV screens. Staffers called out the tone-deaf timing, and yet… she still went through with it.

“RFK Jr. Says He’s ‘Not Familiar’ With Cuts to Health Programs He Oversees”
Does your face hurt from excessive face-palming too…? In a network TV interview, Health Secretary RFK Jr. claimed ignorance about many of the health program cuts he’s presiding over — including $11 billion slashed from programs on infectious disease, mental health, and child vaccines. When asked about specific cuts to adolescent diabetes research, he said, “I didn’t know about that,” and distanced himself from other DOGE actions. He admitted that some cuts (he apparently did know about) were mistakes and may need to be reversed. Then, he doubled down on vaccine skepticism while simultaneously officially recommending the measles shot due to the deadly outbreak killing unvaccinated children in Texas. Dude is seriously all over the place… but he’s probably blaming his Brain Worm for that.

“SCOTUS: Trump Must Help Return Man He Wrongfully Deported”
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, a father with no criminal record, was accidentally swept up in deportations in March and has been now detained in a Salvadoran gulag. Trump’s lawyers admitted it was an “oversight.” To underscore how big of a clusterbark this was, the Supreme Court decision was unanimous, which almost never happens anymore. However, this story is not over just yet. SCOTUS’ ruling has some ambiguity, and it’s “facilitate” language stops short of clearly requiring the government to actually bring him back.

Well, that was a lot to chew on… Again.

So as your reward, here are a few treats.

Some doggy goodness to calm your nerves… lift your spirits… and get you through to tomorrow…

Your Daily Dog.  The Best Pups from the Internet.

Submit Your Dog Too!

Want your precious pup featured in the newsletter?

Just email a pic or social link to us at [email protected]. 

Include your pet’s name and/or your name and/or other details like “It’s Bernese Sanders’ 3rd birthday!” etc. (But only if you want that info published. No pressure.)

Howl It From The Rooftops!

🙌 Thanks for reading. Have a wag-nificent weekend. See you on Monday.  

🐾 And until then, do your best to stay pawsitive!