First on FOX: Democrats have joined protesters called “Ground Zero” to oppose government efficiency (DOGE)'s recent spending cuts by the newly established cost-cutting sector.
Protesters said they were fired from federal jobs during Doge Cuts and gathered outside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump's joint speech to Congress.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Democrats, including D-Va's leader Don Bayer. kweisi mfume, d-md. ; Glenn Ivey, d-md. ;Some people have made it clear that Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-Md.) attended the protest and would not attend Trump's speech later that evening.
“This is Ground Zero. This is where Elon Musk and Doge took the store up,” Ords said in a protest.
Doge has significantly reduced nearly $1 million for Peru's alpaca farming, and other suspicious grants in the latest wasted spending cuts
Democrats and protesters gathered to oppose cuttings at the OPM. (Nicolas Balasse)
“It's really where the fight is going,” the lawmaker added. This is an institution that reflects the diversity of our country and is supposed to have a workforce that is supposed to be based on merits, and we haven't seen it. In fact, we see the opposite. ”
Protesters held signs saying “we'll remove Doge from the OPM,” “federal employees are taxpayers too,” and “we're all more suited.”
Speaking at the event, MFUME claimed that the cost-cutting initiative was “anti-American.”
“Even if you were working for the snake, the snake will tell you that we are ready to do your job,” Muhume said.
Cecilia, a former federal worker, said she recently lost her job at OPM. (Nicolas Balasse)
“All events like this are small steps in the right direction,” Bayer said.
The DOGE's initial findings on DEI spending in the Department of Defense save $80 million, according to the agency.
One attendee, Cecilia, said she was sent an email saying “One night.”
“I worked here. I dedicated more than 16 years of federal work here. I was part of the entire department that was demolished,” the woman said.
The White House told Fox News Digital that the protests would not thwart the administration's efforts to cut costs.
“The protests will not prevent President Trump and Elon Musk from establishing a doge and keeping our federal government from keeping its promise to make it more efficient and responsible for hard-working American taxpayers across the country,” Harrison Fields, special assistant to the president and deputy reporter general, told Fox News Digital.
Elon Musk will respond to President Donald Trump's speech day at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein)
Some Democrats skipped the president's joint speech in protest of the administration's actions, but Trump used his speech to highlight Doge's work to cut costs.
“I have created the latest government efficiency,” Trump said before highlighting areas where “wasteful spending” has been reduced.
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“Under the Trump administration, all of these scams are worse, but I didn't think it was appropriate to talk about them,” the president said.
“They're so bad. Many more people were discovered, exposed, and quickly fired by a group of young people who are very intelligent, mostly heading towards Elon. We appreciate it. We found a multi-billion dollar scam.”
