Trump Administration Targets Government Waste and Fraud
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration has been aggressively working to identify and eliminate waste and fraud in taxpayer spending. This effort includes potential layoffs across federal agencies, fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to reduce the size of the federal government.
During a CNN panel discussion, Xochitl Hinojosa, former Department of Justice (DOJ) public affairs director, accused the administration of prioritizing loyalty over competence. She warned that proposed cuts to FBI staffing could have severe national security consequences.
“Going back to loyalty, I think it’s a very fair point because you claim that Trump is not asking for loyalty within the federal government. He absolutely is,” Hinojosa said. “I was at the Department of Justice. They are telling [me]—essentially attorneys, career prosecutors—if you are not loyal to Trump, then you should get out of here.”
Concerns Over FBI Layoffs and National Security
Hinojosa claimed that the administration’s moves could destabilize national security, specifically pointing to the planned dismissal of thousands of FBI agents.
“He fired the January 6th prosecutor. He’s trying to fire FBI agents, 5,000 FBI agents who worked on January 6th cases. If you fire 5,000 FBI agents, we will have a terrorist attack,” she added.
According to CNN, the DOJ received detailed information on more than 5,000 FBI personnel on February 4. The data reportedly included employee identification numbers, job titles, and their roles in investigations related to January 6th.
Defending the President’s Authority
Scott Jennings, a conservative commentator on the panel, defended Trump’s actions, arguing that the president has the authority to direct the executive branch and enforce his agenda.
“Unfortunately, we have elections for a reason in this country. We vest all executive authority in a president of the United States, not in an unelected bureaucracy, not in independent agencies, but in a president,” Jennings said. “The president’s agenda matters. When a Republican is president, the bureaucracy resists. It has to stop.”
"When a Republican is president, the the bureaucracy resists. It has to stop."
Scott Jennings nails it again. Trump is taking down the deep state! pic.twitter.com/LSz7aOLMFw
— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) March 2, 2025
When Hinojosa pushed back, suggesting Trump was acting “more like a king,” Jennings pointed to the Constitution. However, Democratic Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam argued that Trump’s actions were unconstitutional.
“Yeah, it’s not our Constitution to impede on the spending power of Congress, for instance, and take away agencies that we authorize. So this is not constitutional at all,” Subramanyam claimed.
Double Standards on Executive Overreach
Former Trump Press Communications Director Erin Maguire called out the hypocrisy of Democrats criticizing Trump’s actions while defending President Joe Biden’s unilateral moves.
“But then Democrats want to sit here and complain about that, but had no issue whatsoever when Joe Biden defied the Supreme Court and continued to unilaterally pardon student loan debt? That money was monopoly then,” Maguire said.
Jennings dismissed the outrage, framing the debate as a clear ideological divide.
“Dana, one wants bigger government, one wants smaller government. I think I’ll take it to the midterms,” he said.
Federal Judge Blocks OPM Firings — For Now
In a blow to Trump’s government overhaul, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must rescind directives to fire federal probationary workers. Alsup asserted that OPM lacks “authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe, to hire and fire employees at another agency.”
However, Alsup noted that he could not block actions by other departments, including the Department of Defense, which reportedly plans to cut 5,400 probationary employees.
Subramanyam warned that such deep cuts would have “lasting damage to our country,” vowing to continue fighting against them.
FBI Pushback and Lawsuits Against the DOJ
Following the DOJ’s acquisition of FBI personnel information, multiple anonymous agents and employees filed a lawsuit alleging the DOJ violated First Amendment and privacy laws.
Despite DOJ pressure, acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll reportedly refused to comply with the directive to remove agents working on January 6th cases. Whether these firings will proceed remains uncertain under newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel.
Patel, who took office on February 20, has already pushed back against bureaucratic interference. On February 23, he ordered the FBI not to respond to the Department of Government Efficiency’s request for federal employees to justify their work — a clear sign that the battle between Trump’s administration and the entrenched bureaucracy is far from over.
What are your thoughts on Trump’s attempt to cut down on bureaucracy? Let us know in the comments below!
Each president has a right to have people he can trust, biden and his shadow presidents that were in power the last 4 years packed the federal government with incompetent people, now Trump and his competent team is eliminating the mess that was left for him, get use to it,because government needs to be smaller. God bless Trump for putting the American people first instead of all the croanies that the democrats have, get use to it.