It’s time to acknowledge that the DOGE bros have no clue what they are doing.
After Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency abruptly fired around 180 probationary employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the department sent a new round of emails Tuesday—this time requesting them to come back to work.
“Read this e-mail immediately,” the subject line demanded, according to the Associated Press.
“You should return to duty under your previous work schedule. We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused,” the email said.
It’s not clear how many employees have actually returned to their roles.
The sudden about-face comes amid a rapidly escalating bird flu crisis and measles outbreakwhich has forced Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into a stunning reversal of his long-held anti-vaccine stance.
In mid-February, Kennedy fired nearly half of the public health workforce. And recently, members of his own staff have been jumping ship in response to his lackluster leadership.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, which is home to the CDC headquarters, railed against the firings in February, citing the danger of Kennedy.
“The moment at which you put the CDC and Nazi death camps in the same statement, and you’re the secretary nominee for HHS, Houston, Georgia, America, we have a problem. And that problem is Robert Kennedy,” he said.
On Thursday, Warnock expressed relief over the CDC rehirings, but he also warned about the risks DOGE’s role in the federal government poses to the United States.
“Today’s announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country’s public health and national security will continue to be at risk,” he said.
The CDC fiasco is only the latest chapter in Musk’s heavy-handed and incredibly reckless mass purge of federal agencies under the guise of “government efficiency,” which has led to protests at Tesla dealerships, State Capitolsand town halls across the country.
But the CDC is hardly the first government agency to fall prey to Musk’s chaotic firing and rehiring spree.
In February, after numerous plane crashes and near misses, Musk begged Federal Aviation Administration employees to return to work after a round of mass firings, which included the FAA chief.
And in similar chaos, President Donald Trump bailed on his plan to force tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Thursday—just two days after boasting about it during his address to a joint session of Congress.
And later on Thursday, Trump walked back his plan to sign an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
The CDC whiplash is just the latest in a series of embarrassing reversals from MAGA. It’s almost as if these goons are entirely unqualified to run the U.S. government.
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