CABRERA: “April, we are starting to see a rebellion within the DOGE ranks.”
Ryan: “Yes.”
CABRERA: “20 one DOGE staffers resigned in protest. These weren’t the outsiders Musk brought in, these were civil servants who had worked for the U.S. Digital Service and then that were pulled into DOGE. Let me read part of their resignation letter. We don’t have their specific identity, so it was anonymous, but they write, ‘We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize American sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services.’ So can DOGE do its job without people who have the institutional knowledge of how things work?”
Ryan: “Do we really even know what DOGE actually formally does than just cutting people? At the end of the day, DOGE is relying on these people who understand the inner workings of government. I mean, Ana, I have been talking to so many fired employees who do not — who are terrified and don’t want to talk about it. They’re telling me — and this is — this is why DOGE is upset about these career people, these 21 people leaving — they are going into these offices and firing people, departments and firing people and leaving things left untied. Like for instance, you know, on Valentine’s Day — I did a story — on Valentine’s Day, they fired many people — I’m not going to say department, location, et cetera, just to protect these people from repercussions — but they fired people and they still have their key cards, they still have access to websites 11 days later, right? They have access to their computers and they’re just starting the process now to get them to come back and bring those materials back. They’re just starting the process. DOGE needs these people. DOGE needs these people, because they’re not tying the loose ends.”
CABRERA: “Mm-hmm.”
Ryan: “It’s dangerous what they’re doing, you know.”