Staff Reports
Kayleigh McEnany has once again taken the bull by the horns on Fox News, tackling the ongoing issue of federal bureaucracy resistant to the Trump administration’s agenda. This time, she brought the conversation on the show “Outnumbered” to the glaring phenomenon of government layoffs, which seem to be causing quite a stir, particularly among former Obama administration officials like Marie Harf. The irony that a Democrat would lament the loss of government jobs in a Republican-led effort to streamline operations is rich enough to make anyone crack a smile.
In January 2017, President Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency, affectionately abbreviated as DOGE. This was not merely a rebranding of the United States Digital Service; it was a full-blown attempt to kick some much-needed efficiency into a bloated bureaucracy. Yet, as federal workers begin to face the consequences of this initiative, McEnany stirred the pot by pointing out how some workers have chosen to remain in their jobs out of sheer spite, determined to cling to their positions until the Trump presidency comes to an end. It appears that a sense of loyalty to government service only extends as far as the political winds blow, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone with the insular nature of swamp dwellers.
According to McEnany, the problem seems to squarely fit into three categories, with the first being the political appointees who are applauding these layoffs as a revolutionary step towards cleaning up government. The second category? The earnest federal employees who actually care about their work, irrespective of who’s in the Oval Office. But in the end, there’s a third group – those federal workers who have embraced the “resistance” mentality. This group doesn’t mind sitting it out in their cushy government chairs, viewing themselves as casualties of a political game, rather than adhering to the will of the voters. McEnany rightly questioned how this mentality fits into the American ethos, or the idea that public service is about serving the citizens, not engaging in entrenched political warfare.
Harf, clearly rattled by this revelation, took the opportunity to lash out at the legality of the layoffs, arguing that the firings amounted to an attack on hard-working public servants. It seems she believes that government job security is a given and that the mere act of requiring accountability is tantamount to injustice. She personalized the fallout of these layoffs, claiming they disrupt lives while conveniently ignoring the reality that job security in government has often become an illusion, especially when the country is screaming for efficiency and effectiveness in its agencies.
‘That Should Not Happen’: Kayleigh McEnany Drops Receipts After Dem Panelist Complains About Gov’t Layoffs https://t.co/QaZxjYoLFk via @dailycaller
— Michael J. Fell (@MichaelJFell) February 24, 2025
McEnany pushed back against Harf’s concerns by referencing a 2017 piece from the Washington Post, highlighting the bureaucratic resistance that was already afoot just two weeks into Trump’s presidency. The article describes how federal employees were in clandestine discussions with Obama-era appointees about how to push back against Trump’s policies. For anyone paying attention, this revelation underlines a profound issue: a segment of the federal workforce is not interested in serving the public but is instead more committed to their political beliefs than to the job they were entrusted to do.
At the end of the day, the resistance from within the bureaucracy isn’t just a quirky footnote in history; it’s a serious obstacle to effective governance. McEnany’s take on the situation reveals not just a battle of politics but a cultural war being waged in the halls of Washington. This isn’t merely a spat about a few layoffs; it’s about who gets to steer the ship of state and whether the crew is willing to actually follow the captain’s orders or dig in their heels as they remain stuck in a bygone era of governance under Obama. What once was a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has become a government for some, by some, and certainly against any efforts toward change.
