SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
department of government efficiency
Trump's Great Talent: Breaking Many Things at Once
Let’s call what the Trump administration is doing “multitrashing”: destroying things on multiple fronts, like a bull in a shopping mall full of fragile wares.
Mar 27, 2026
Maybe you’re reading this article while listening to a podcast. Or you’re participating in a dull Zoom meeting. Or you’re talking on the phone with a relative.
Maybe you’ve just read the first three lines of this article three times without really registering them because your attention is absorbed elsewhere.
You’re not alone.
The modern age, with its multiple demands on a person’s time, seems to require multitasking. It’s not the kind of activity you read about in the classics. Surely that fellow who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC didn’t carry along a couple papyrus scrolls to read along the way. Leonardo da Vinci didn’t paint Mona Lisa’s smile, stop to conduct a scientific experiment on gravity, and simultaneously jot down his thoughts on anatomy, going back and forth among those activities like a whirling dervish.
Trump has been released in the FAO Schwarz of military toy stores, and he wants to use all the gadgets. This time around, the generals aren’t holding him in check.
Though it promises greater productivity, multitasking is not a wondrous invention. Shifting between tasks, according to a number of psychological studies, actually reduces productivity and generates more errors. The result can be banal, as in, “I’m sorry, could you repeat what you just said to me?” Or it can be fatal, as in the thousands of deaths caused by drivers looking at their phones.
It’s hard to imagine President Donald Trump multitasking, unless you count sleeping during cabinet meetings, lying and walking at the same time, or eating Whoppers while dispersing them on social media. And yet, his administration has been extremely effective its first year doing multiple things at the same time, if you define “effective” in terms of lives lost, reputations ruined, and institutions destroyed.
Don’t mistake all this destruction for multitasking. The effort to keep all the spinning plates aloft is something pursued, however spuriously, in the service of greater productivity. Instead, let’s call what the Trump administration is doing “multitrashing.” Imagine a bully that pushes the magician out of the way so that all the plates come crashing to the ground. Now multiply that a thousand-fold. Trump and his cohort are busy destroying things on multiple fronts, like a bull in a shopping mall full of fragile wares.
Just look at what the Trump team has done to the federal government: programs gutted, agencies disbanded, regulatory frameworks diluted to the point of disappearance. Just look at the destruction of science funding, the rollback of civil rights, the wrenching apart of immigrant families. Trump has approached domestic policy as if it were an axis of resistance—Bureaucrats, Academics, the Woke, and the Undocumented—that requires a multifront war of assault and attrition.
Let’s face it: The frog of America is not in a pot of water coming to a slow boil. The frog of America is in the middle of a pile of rapidly accumulating rubble. What the poor frog can’t perceive is how high and how wide this pile of rubble actually stretches. The frog thinks: Maybe it’s not a lot of damage and I can soon jump my way clear. Poor, deluded frog.
If multitrashing has been so egregiously successful at home, it pales in comparison with Trump’s actions in the international arena. The trash-talking and trash-acting president has discovered, in his second term, that the US military arsenal is not just for deterrent purposes. Trump has been released in the FAO Schwarz of military toy stores, and he wants to use all the gadgets. This time around, the generals aren’t holding him in check.
The itinerary of destruction so far this term has involved the US military in Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and Syria, along with two excursions to Iran. It’s been only a year, but what a long, strange, vindictive trip it’s been.
The Iran War
The Iranian government still stands. This is remarkable given the sheer amount of money and firepower the United States and Israel have devoted to toppling it. If Trump had focused on one task, rather than being engaged in multitrashing, he might have at least avoided some of the worst consequences of this war. Convinced of an easy victory, he did nothing to shockproof the US economy by, for instance, arranging for naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for all his similar hubris, nevertheless prepared the Russian economy for the expected sanctions after his full-scaled invasion of Ukraine. Trump, by contrast, is the Alfred E. Neuman of presidents: “What, me worry?”
Other presidents have been vengeful, violent, imperialist. But their destructive campaigns were usually in the serve of constructing something.
Iran, meanwhile, is focused on one thing: regime survival. It has caused destruction in turn, in multiple locations, but this has all served the purpose of increasing the pain for Israel and the United States. Closing down the Strait of Hormuz, bombing energy infrastructure throughout the Gulf, selecting hardliners to lead the new government: Iran wants not just to force a ceasefire but to win concessions such as a reduction in sanctions.
Trump, frustrated by a conflict that exceeds his attention span, has moved onto other tasks, like assisting drug operations in Ecuador, threatening NATO countries, and pursuing regime change in Cuba. There is method in his madness. All of this furious activity keeps Trump in the news cycle and in the hearts of his supporters. It keeps Congress out of the loop and adversaries (as well as putative friends) guessing.
Most importantly, it keeps potential successes rather than obvious ongoing failures in the public eye.
The Ultimate End
Other presidents have been vengeful, violent, imperialist. But their destructive campaigns were usually in the serve of constructing something. George W. Bush imagined a new democratic order in the Middle East. Richard Nixon dreamed of an anti-communist bloc in Southeast Asia. Most presidents from Teddy Roosevelt on have attempted to position the United States as the world’s policeman atop a rules-based order that disproportionately benefits America.
In a recent New Yorker piece, Daniel Immerwahr notes that Trump has “liberated himself from the burdens of empire.” Ironically, horribly, this disburdening has freed the president to destroy at will.
Indeed, it seems that Trump is multitrashing for the sheer malicious joy of it. He didn’t build something new in Venezuela, simply destroyed his rival. He is planning something comparable for Cuba. As for Iran, he is not even sure what constitutes victory, other than a display of epic fury.
Multitrashing is the opposite of bureaucracy. It destroys without a thought to order, efficiency, results, consequences. Only the strong can survive the harrowing process of such destruction.
As in his domestic campaigns, Trump is up against what he imagines to be a global axis of resistance: the United Nations, all Europeans to the left of Nigel Farage, any rival autocrat who refuses to bend a knee. The international order is the creation of his hated liberals, so it too must go. He has absolutely no idea of what to replace the rules-based system with other than, perhaps, a reality TV show in which countries must submit to humiliating tasks while a single judge, Trump, decides who rises and who falls.
It is the nature of bureaucracy to break a task down to its smallest components, like a Ford assembly line, in order to produce things more efficiently. It is, in theory, a process of focus. In practice, as anyone who has had to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles knows, bureaucracy is diffuse and unfocused. But again, in its way, bureaucracy has been created to keep a modern society functioning. It is the skeleton of order that keeps everything in place.
Multitrashing is the opposite of bureaucracy. It destroys without a thought to order, efficiency, results, consequences. Only the strong can survive the harrowing process of such destruction. Billionaires thrive in Trump’s America; superpowers dominate in TrumpWorld. Meanwhile, in a rage room of his own devising, Trump continues to flit from one activity to another, using a sledgehammer to destroy computers, a chain saw to cut through furniture, a howitzer to blow up heavy machinery.
It is theater of a sort, and Trump delights in performing on the world stage. But it’s not kabuki. It’s a visceral one-man show that reveals the sickening highs and lows of this new theater of cruelty.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Massive, Illegal, and Horrific Breach': Ex-DOGE Staffer Allegedly Stole Social Security Data
"Americans deserve timely, honest answers about what happened, whose information may have been exposed, what will be done to protect them going forward," said one campaigner.
Mar 10, 2026
Critics of the Department of Government Efficiency are sounding the alarm after the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Social Security Administration's inspector general is investigating a whistleblower complaint accusing a former DOGE staffer of trying to share information from SSA databases with his private employer.
The Post didn't name the former DOGE software engineer, the company, or the whistleblower. However, the reporters spoke with the whistleblower and other unnamed sources, and also reviewed the related complaint as well as a letter from the acting inspector general to top members of four congressional committees.
The ex-DOGE staffer allegedly told multiple colleagues that he possessed two key databases of sensitive information on over 500 million living and dead US citizens, "Numident" and the "Master Death File," and once he removed personal details, he wanted to plug the remaining data into his company's system.
The newspaper noted that "the complaint does not allege that the engineer was successful in uploading the data to the company's system," and "a lawyer who represents the former DOGE member told the Post he denied all alleged wrongdoing."
The reporting adds to a long list of concerns and criticism provoked by DOGE, which President Donald Trump launched shortly after taking office. Billionaire Elon Musk was the de facto leader of the government-gutting initiative until he departed the administration last May.
Responding to the report on Musk's social media platform X, Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.), a longtime defender of Social Security, declared that "we need a full congressional investigation and answers!"
DOGE was never about efficiency or saving $—it was about handing Social Security over to Wall Street, dismantling public services & making it impossible to hold corporations accountable. That's why federal workers have been sounding the alarm—and we won't stop fighting back. #wetookanoath
[image or embed]
— Federal Workers United (@fedworkersunited.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 4:54 PM
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) announced that he is expanding his investigation of DOGE-related data leaks at the SSA over the allegations. He said in a statement that "the deeply disturbing whistleblower information obtained by the committee shows the Trump administration's callous disregard for the safety and security of Americans' most sensitive information."
"Not only has an ex-DOGE bro been accused of running around with the social security information of every American on a flash drive, he also may have the ability to edit and manipulate data at the Social Security Administration at will," Garcia continued. "This is dangerous and outrageous, and Oversight Committee Democrats will fight for transparency and accountability."
Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, similarly said: "Allegations that a 'DOGE bro' may have removed highly sensitive Social Security data onto a thumb drive should set off alarm bells across the country. Social Security holds some of the most personal information Americans have, including Social Security numbers, birth and health records, and lifetime earnings histories. If these reports are accurate, it is a stunning, illegal data security breach."
"Americans deserve timely, honest answers about what happened, whose information may have been exposed, what will be done to protect them going forward," he argued. "Anyone involved must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Congress and the Social Security inspector general must move quickly to get the facts and ensure that all involved in this reported data breach are punished."
Criminal theft of the American people's private Social Security data.
[image or embed]
— Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) March 10, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert also demanded accountability. She said that "this massive, illegal, and horrific breach of Americans' most sensitive data has confirmed the very fears we've been warning about for over a year—that the Trump administration allowing DOGE to infiltrate our government without oversight created fertile ground for abuse, and in this case of an exceptionally egregious kind."
"These are the kinds of breaches that Public Citizen had previously sued the government to prevent," she added. "Federal and state officials must ensure the misuse of this data ends immediately and that all private copies of Social Security data are destroyed. Prosecutors should open a criminal investigation immediately and, if the evidence supports it, prosecute this case aggressively."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Criminal Investigation Demanded for DOGE Theft of Social Security Data
"This week’s revelations are just the tip of the iceberg," said the executive director of Social Security Works. "We need to know exactly who has our data and what they are doing with it."
Jan 21, 2026
Advocates and Democratic members of Congress are calling for a criminal investigation after a court filing revealed that operatives at the Department of Government Efficiency—previously headed by Elon Musk—pilfered and leaked Social Security data through a non-secure private server.
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said Wednesday that his organization supports Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) in their call for "a full criminal investigation into DOGE leaks of private Social Security data to Elon Musk’s associates and immediate congressional action to safeguard Americans’ privacy."
"This reported malfeasance was enabled by a culture created by the Trump administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE soon after the president took office—a culture of recklessly interfering in the legitimate functions of the federal government with questionable intent and zero accountability," said Richtman, calling the data abuses part of a "relentless attack on the functioning of the Social Security Administration."
Richtman's statement came a day after the Trump administration acknowledged that DOGE operatives accessed and divulged highly sensitive Social Security data in ways that "were potentially outside of" SSA policy and in violation of a March 2025 court order. The Justice Department maintains that SSA doesn't know data was shared on the third-party server.
As the New York Times reported, the Trump DOJ also disclosed that "a political advocacy group contacted two members of the DOGE Social Security team, asking for an analysis of state voter rolls the advocacy group obtained."
"One of the DOGE employees signed an agreement with the advocacy group, which the Social Security Administration appeared to learn through a review of emails," the Times noted. "The Justice Department did not provide details about what came of the agreement and whether sensitive data was shared inappropriately."
In a joint statement responding to the revelations, Larson and Neal said that "we have been warning about privacy violations at Social Security and calling out Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ for months."
"DOGE signed an agreement to share Social Security data with an organization trying to undermine state election results, sent 1,000 Americans’ personal records directly to one of Elon Musk’s top consiglieres, and shared the confidential data of Americans on a private server," the Democratic lawmakers continued. "The 'DOGE' appointees engaged in this scheme—who were never brought before Congress for approval or even publicly identified—must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for these abhorrent violations of the public trust."
Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, echoed that call on Wednesday, saying that "those who have committed illegal acts must be prosecuted."
Lawson also demanded that Congress launch "a long-overdue investigation into just what DOGE is doing with our earned benefits and our private data."
"Thanks to Donald Trump and the Supreme Court, Elon Musk’s DOGE minions have access to our private Social Security data. So does anyone they choose to share it with—and anyone who can hack the unsecured server they’ve stored it on," said Lawson. "This week’s revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. We need to know exactly who has our data and what they are doing with it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular