President Donald Trump is less than two months into his second term in office, but he has already ushered in dramatic changes across the federal government. Perhaps none more notable than the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has joined many lawsuits trying to stop the mass firings of federal employees and the freezing of grants and funds.
More than a decade ago, the word DOGE represented a meme of a chubby Shiba Inu dog surrounded by Comic Sans phrases in multicolor fashion.
But now under the Trump administration, it has taken on a new meaning.
Elon Musk — the richest person on Earth and a close Trump ally — is working with the president to eliminate as much government waste as possible. He heads a hard-to-pin-down agency called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short.
To a lot of people, the word now means the freezing of federal funding and the mass firings of federal employees.
“We’re essentially preparing to lose our jobs, so in my off time I’ve been working on my resume," said Tim Cox who works at the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance.
The agency is set to lose almost 430 people, about 90% of its workforce. Despite the agency having to legally stay open, Cox says the Phoenix office is set to close its doors.
“We still have to stay afloat, but they're whittling us down to essentially ineffectiveness," he said.
Cox spoke at a community event organized by Attorney General Kris Mayes.
“This will have a ripple effect of thousands of jobs, but most of all this affects job seekers, it affects employees that work for federal contractors and two of our most vulnerable populations, which are individuals with disabilities and veterans," Cox said.
Mayes is hosting a series of these community hearings with attorneys general from Oregon, New Mexico and Minnesota.
Dozens of people attended a recent event at Central High School in Phoenix.
“In a democracy, it is OK to have opposing views, but there are also a lot of people here tonight who have lost their jobs or who have had to lay off their employees and they are in crisis mode. So, I want to ask that everyone remain respectful," Mayes said.
Partway through, a group of four people showed up with a different perspective, one wearing a camouflage Make America Great Again hat and pointing a phone mounted on a stabilizer.
They cheer references to actions the Trump administration has taken and boo when people are critical.
“I don't think there's a single American who thinks the federal government is working exactly the way it should, but reform should be done lawfully," Mayes said.
The crowd heard from other community members who had lost a job or were affected by the firings.
Among them was Kristin Fray who spoke at Central High School.
“My name is Kristen and until last week I worked with vets at the Phoenix VA. I worked as a music therapist with veterans who have unique medical challenges. TBI, polytrauma, PTSD, Agent Orange exposure," Fray said.
Fray says her abrupt firing left veterans without access to care.
“Normally, when you end music therapy, you're supposed to give them recommendations, give them suggestions, encourage them to set their own goals to interact with music on their own. But these veterans, some of whom are very fragile, were unable to have that closure, which puts them at risk for depression, anxiety, or even suicidal ideation," Fray said.
Superintendent of Osborn School District Michael Robert talked about a $3 million grant that was canceled.
“These funds help support salaries, benefits, additional duties for teachers and leadership coaching and a large portion of the funding, almost half a million dollars, goes towards performance based compensation," Robert said.
Elyse Guidas is executive director of Activate Food Arizona, which helps thousands access healthy food.
“Administratively, several grants that we've relied on and planned on for the next year have been terminated, which has caused me to not only change program plans and put critical food initiatives on hold. It eventually could obviously mean layoffs for my organization," Guidas said.
When the event concluded after more than two hours, people were still lined up hoping to speak.
As lawsuits continue to unfold, the fate of the agencies and fired employees remains unclear.
In the meantime, people will continue to speak up. Mayes says she will hold more community hearings around the country in the coming months.
“Once in a generation Americans are called upon to sacrifice and to fight for our country and to fight for our future and the future of our kids and that’s what you’re doing and that’s what your attorneys general are doing. So let’s get started," Mayes said.
