Keith’s note: Have a look at Executive Order 14222–Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative which is all about “This order commences a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and Government employees are accountable to the American public.” While everyone is preparing to be fired or competes in a RIF process against other coworkers to keep their job; conducts all of that highly sophisticated rocket science stuff that keeps all the spaceships working; and/or explores the universe; they also need to worry about all of these quick turnaround tasks in the next 30-60 days (Greatest hits below):
Each Agency Head shall, with assistance as requested from the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, build a centralized technological system within the agency to seamlessly record every payment issued by the agency pursuant to each of the agency’s covered contracts and grants, along with a brief, written justification for each payment submitted by the agency employee who approved the payment. This system shall include a mechanism for the Agency Head to pause and rapidly review any payment for which the approving employee has not submitted a brief, written justification within the technological system.
Each Agency Head, in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, shall review all existing covered contracts and grants and, where appropriate and consistent with applicable law, terminate or modify (including through renegotiation) such covered contracts and grants to reduce overall Federal spending or reallocate spending to promote efficiency and advance the policies of my Administration. This process shall commence immediately and shall prioritize the review of funds disbursed under covered contracts and grants to educational institutions and foreign entities for waste, fraud, and abuse. Each Agency Head shall complete this review within 30 days of the date of this order.
Non-Essential Travel Justification. Each Agency Head shall, with assistance from the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, build a technological system within each agency that centrally records approval for federally funded travel for conferences and other non-essential purposes. Once an agency’s system is in place, the Agency Head shall prohibit agency employees from engaging in federally funded travel for conferences or other non-essential purposes unless the travel- approving official has submitted a brief, written justification for the federally funded travel within such system. Each DOGE Team Lead shall, to the extent consistent with law, provide the Administrator with a monthly informational report listing each agency’s justifications for non-essential travel. Such justifications shall be posted publicly unless prohibited by law or unless the Agency Head grants an exemption from this requirement.
Credit Card Freeze. To the maximum extent permitted by law, all credit cards held by agency employees shall be treated as frozen for 30 days from the date of this order, except for any credit cards held by employees engaged in, or charges related to employees utilizing such credit cards for, disaster relief or natural disaster response benefits or operations or other critical services as determined by the Agency Head, and subject to such additional individualized or categorical exceptions as the Agency Head, in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, deems appropriate.
Real Property Leases. Within 30 days of the date of this order, each Agency Head shall promptly identify all termination rights the Agency Head may have under existing leases of Government-owned real property and, in consultation with agency’s DOGE Team Lead and the Administrator of General Services or his designee, determine whether to exercise such rights.
Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of General Services shall submit a plan to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the disposition of Government-owned real property which has been deemed by the agency as no longer needed.
