The Internal Revenue Service and the United States Postal Service have agreed to major cuts directed by Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency.
Newsweek has contacted the IRS and USPS for comment via email outside of regular office hours as well as DOGE via X.
What Has DOGE Done This Week?
The IRS plans to lose about 20 percent of its workforce—about 18,000 employees—by May 15 as part of the cuts, ABC News reported, citing two sources familiar with the plans.
Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to cut 10,000 workers in the next 30 days, according to a letter he sent to Congress on Thursday. He told Congress he signed an agreement with DOGE and the General Services Administration to address “big problems” at the agency, which has at times struggled in recent years to stay afloat.
DOGE said on X on Thursday that 239 “wasteful” contracts with a “ceiling value” of $1.7 billion had been terminated, representing savings of $400 million. Earlier in the week, DOGE said it had deactivated more than 200,000 credit cards linked to 16 federal agencies. DOGE has also added to the list of terminated building leases nationwide.
In addition, a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing is being terminated at the direction of DOGE, according to an internal document reviewed by The Associated Press.
What Has the Reaction Been?
A new poll has found that a majority of voters believe DOGE’s actions are harming the country. Some 54 percent of voters think Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, while 40 percent think they are helping, according to Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.
But the poll found a wide partisan divide—82 percent of Republicans believe they are helping, while 94 percent of Democrats think they are hurting the country.
The poll also found 60 percent disapprove of the way Musk and DOGE are dealing with federal workers, while 36 percent approve. The poll surveyed 1,198 registered voters from March 6 to 10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
The move to cut jobs at the IRS has sparked criticism from groups who say it will cost the U.S. billions in revenue.
“Firing IRS agents will let the wealthy cheat us out of billions in taxes,” advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness wrote on X. “Cutting a few thousand jobs will never make up for those losses. This isn’t about ‘saving money.’ It’s about making the rich richer.”
Democrats have blasted DOGE’s actions this week, with California Representative Mike Levin saying it was shutting down federal offices in San Diego “without a plan.” He wrote: “Workers do not know if they have jobs, and residents will lose critical services. This is not efficiency, it is just reckless.”
Democrats also blasted Musk for skipping a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday where they had sought answers about DOGE’s access to Americans’ Social Security information.
How Many Jobs Has DOGE Cut So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies.
The Department of Education announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees on Tuesday, while the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes curing 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by The AP earlier this month.
At least 24,000 probationary workers have been terminated since President Donald Trump took office, according to a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states alleging the mass firings are illegal. Meanwhile, about 75,000 federal workers accepted the offer to quit in return for receiving pay and benefits until September 30.
How Much Spending Has DOGE Cut So Far?
DOGE has said it has saved the federal government an estimated $115 billion as of March 11, equating it to about $714 per taxpayer.
DOGE’s website says the receipts provided on the website represent about 30 percent of total savings, meaning the top-line figure is not yet verifiable.
According to the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker designed by data analyst Brian Banks, the verifiable savings, as of March 11, are about $8.6 billion.
Is DOGE a Government Agency?
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office in January officially creating the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to modernize “federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Despite its name, it is not a government agency created by an act of Congress, but a task force charged with rooting out waste and slashing government spending.
The post Elon Musk DOGE Update for March 14: IRS and USPS Agree to Major Cuts appeared first on Newsweek.
