DOGE Catch-All

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www.wired.com

DOGE Is Trying to Gift Itself a $500 Million Building, Court Filings Show

The documents reveal a DOGE affiliate is attempting to transfer the headquarters of an independent think tank, the United States Institute of Peace, to the government at no cost.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

The DOGE-affiliated acting president of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally funded, independent think tank, has moved to transfer the agency’s $500 million headquarters building to the General Services Administration free of charge, according to court documents revealed in a recently filed lawsuit.

Tensions at USIP have been escalating for weeks, starting when the Trump administration fired the agency’s 10 voting board members on March 14 and USIP staffers denied DOGE representatives access at the front door. Three days later, DOGE employees made their way into the building, reportedly using a physical key from a former security contractor. The dramatic confrontations culminated in a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of this past Friday, most USIP staffers have received termination notices.

...

To state this plainly: DOGE forced out the directors and staff of a nonexecutive agency, installed one of its own GSA staffers as president, and that person is now attempting to hand the institute’s $500 million headquarters over to the agency he came from, at zero cost.
 

No Toilet Paper and No Privacy: Returning to the Office, Federal Workers Walk Into Chaos​

President Trump has described his new in-office requirement as a way to ensure workers are doing their jobs. He sees potentially leading more employees to quit as an added benefit.

“…
Some showed up at the office just to be sent home. Others showed up early and had nowhere to sit. Some employees with the Federal Aviation Administration returned to an office where lead had been detected in the water. And spending freezes have meant a shortage of toilet paper in some buildings.

Federal workers have been returning to offices in stages since President Trump issued an order to do so right after being sworn in. He has described the requirement as a way to ensure that workers are actually doing their jobs while believing that it could have the added benefit of leading more government employees to quit.

“We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and therefore our government will get smaller and more efficient,” Mr. Trump said.

… At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, employees were told to brace for limited parking at two of the agency’s campuses. “Drive to Corporate Square and sit in the overflow space in Building 11,” read a sign posted on the agency’s intranet. “Be prepared to work from your laptop and Wi-Fi.”

At one campus, it can take 90 minutes just to leave because the parking is so full and choke points are at every turn. It can be hard to even back out of a space, one employee said.

It’s crowded, the employee said, because the C.D.C. campus was never designed for all employees to work in the office. Over the past 10 years, there was a long-term plan to reduce the number of leased properties the agency used, which required an increase in remote work. But the Trump administration has banned that option. …”
 
They are coming for the libraries and museums



“The Trump administration, working in coordination with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has gutted a small federal agency that provides funding to libraries and museums nationwide. In communities across the US, the cuts threaten student field trips, classes for seniors, and access to popular digital services, such as the ebook app Libby.

On Monday, managers at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) informed 77 employees—virtually the agency’s entire staff—that they were immediately being put on paid administrative leave, according to one of the workers, who sought anonymity out of fear of retaliation from Trump officials.

Several other sources confirmed the move, which came after President Donald Trump appointed Keith Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, as the acting director of IMLS less than two weeks ago.

… IMLS employees who showed up to work at the agency on Monday were asked to turn in their computers and lost access to their government email addresses before being ordered to head home for the day, the employee says. It’s unclear when, or if, staffers will ever return to work. “It’s heartbreaking on many levels,” the employee adds. …”
 
altmin said:
www.wired.com

DOGE Is Trying to Gift Itself a $500 Million Building, Court Filings Show

The documents reveal a DOGE affiliate is attempting to transfer the headquarters of an independent think tank, the United States Institute of Peace, to the government at no cost.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

The DOGE-affiliated acting president of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally funded, independent think tank, has moved to transfer the agency’s $500 million headquarters building to the General Services Administration free of charge, according to court documents revealed in a recently filed lawsuit.

Tensions at USIP have been escalating for weeks, starting when the Trump administration fired the agency’s 10 voting board members on March 14 and USIP staffers denied DOGE representatives access at the front door. Three days later, DOGE employees made their way into the building, reportedly using a physical key from a former security contractor. The dramatic confrontations culminated in a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of this past Friday, most USIP staffers have received termination notices.

...

To state this plainly: DOGE forced out the directors and staff of a nonexecutive agency, installed one of its own GSA staffers as president, and that person is now attempting to hand the institute’s $500 million headquarters over to the agency he came from, at zero cost.
Click to expand...
Isn't that just theft?
 
nycfan said:
They are coming for the libraries and museums



“The Trump administration, working in coordination with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has gutted a small federal agency that provides funding to libraries and museums nationwide. In communities across the US, the cuts threaten student field trips, classes for seniors, and access to popular digital services, such as the ebook app Libby.

On Monday, managers at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) informed 77 employees—virtually the agency’s entire staff—that they were immediately being put on paid administrative leave, according to one of the workers, who sought anonymity out of fear of retaliation from Trump officials.

Several other sources confirmed the move, which came after President Donald Trump appointed Keith Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, as the acting director of IMLS less than two weeks ago.

… IMLS employees who showed up to work at the agency on Monday were asked to turn in their computers and lost access to their government email addresses before being ordered to head home for the day, the employee says. It’s unclear when, or if, staffers will ever return to work. “It’s heartbreaking on many levels,” the employee adds. …”
Click to expand...

Cons know as long as you keep them angry at external loci, you can keep them dumb, unhealthy, and chained to your corporation.
 
altmin said:
www.wired.com

DOGE Is Trying to Gift Itself a $500 Million Building, Court Filings Show

The documents reveal a DOGE affiliate is attempting to transfer the headquarters of an independent think tank, the United States Institute of Peace, to the government at no cost.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

The DOGE-affiliated acting president of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally funded, independent think tank, has moved to transfer the agency’s $500 million headquarters building to the General Services Administration free of charge, according to court documents revealed in a recently filed lawsuit.

Tensions at USIP have been escalating for weeks, starting when the Trump administration fired the agency’s 10 voting board members on March 14 and USIP staffers denied DOGE representatives access at the front door. Three days later, DOGE employees made their way into the building, reportedly using a physical key from a former security contractor. The dramatic confrontations culminated in a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of this past Friday, most USIP staffers have received termination notices.

...

To state this plainly: DOGE forced out the directors and staff of a nonexecutive agency, installed one of its own GSA staffers as president, and that person is now attempting to hand the institute’s $500 million headquarters over to the agency he came from, at zero cost.
Click to expand...
$500 million for that building? Is it promoting peace better than if it had been $50 million? There's just so much waste. It boggles.
 
StrangePackage said:
Tell us a little bit about your background in real estate appraisal, specifically as it relates to the DC Metro area.
Click to expand...
It's barely extensive enough to know that a $500 million building is extremely expensive and that there is office space much cheaper in the DC metro area.
 
Unconfirmed reports the Musk is leaving DOGE soon and going back to his businesses. Unconfirmed, but sourced from people inside the Admin.

Could be some truth. Tesla was down another 6.5% on the expected crappy qtrly report from Tesla (shipment units down 13% over Q1 last year.) Now stock is up almost 4%, a 10% flip since news broke.
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
Unconfirmed reports the Musk is leaving DOGE soon and going back to his businesses. Unconfirmed, but sourced from people inside the Admin.

Could be some truth. Tesla was down another 6.5% on the expected crappy qtrly report from Tesla (shipment units down 13% over Q1 last year.) Now stock is up almost 4%, a 10% flip since news broke.
Click to expand...
The actual reason is to avoid oversight.

Loading…

www.politico.com

"Musk is classed as a temporary government employee, with a 130-day cap on his services at the White House. Under that designation, his tenure would conclude at the end of May."
 
lawtig02 said:
The actual reason is to avoid oversight.

Loading…

www.politico.com

"Musk is classed as a temporary government employee, with a 130-day cap on his services at the White House. Under that designation, his tenure would conclude at the end of May."
Click to expand...
That and I’ll bet the board is starting to get a bit agitated. Support for his $55 billion payday (he is appealing, isn’t he?) has likely eroded a bit.

DOGE would still be stacked with people who answer to him.
 
StrangePackage said:
So owning a $500 million dollar asset... Is bad.

You know what I'm going to go out on a very sturdy limb and suggest that you actually know nothing about what you're talking about.
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The taxpayers spent $500 million dollars on that asset. I'm going to guess they could have spent $500 million dollars on something else that you and I would both rather see it spent on than a nice building for some diplomats.
 
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gtyellowjacket said:
The taxpayers spent $500 million dollars on that asset. I'm going to guess they could have spent $500 million dollars on something else that you and I would both rather see it spin on than a nice building for some diplomats.
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According to Wikipedia, in 2004 Congress authorized $100 million dollars to build that headquarters. So if it's worth $500 million now, then it in fact made the taxpayers $400 million dollars.

Such waste!
 
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