How DOGE Hides Its Work, and Trump Targets Climate Rules

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Headlines – "How DOGE Hides Its Work, and Trump Targets Climate Rules"

Release Date: March 13, 2025 | Host: Tracy Mumford | Source: The New York Times

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Introduction

In this episode of The Headlines, host Tracy Mumford delves into two major stories shaping today's discourse: the Trump administration's sweeping deregulation of environmental policies and the opaque operations of DOGE, a government efficiency initiative led by Elon Musk. Additionally, the episode covers various significant updates ranging from legislative funding impasses to high-profile legal battles and economic data.

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1. Trump Administration's Historic Environmental Deregulation

Lee Zeldin Announces Massive Deregulatory Measures

At the forefront of the episode is Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who declares the initiation of "31 historic" deregulations—the largest such announcement in U.S. history ([00:40]). Zeldin emphasizes the administration's intent to overhaul what he describes as "suffocating rules" that have long restricted multiple sectors of the economy.

Lee Zeldin ([00:51]): "EPA will be reconsidering many suffocating rules that restrict nearly every sector of our economy."

Undermining EPA's Authority on Greenhouse Gases

A significant focus of these deregulations is the Trump administration's effort to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This move challenges decades of scientific consensus linking such emissions to climate change.

Tracy Mumford ([01:12]): "Most significantly, Zeldin wants to undercut the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions at all. To do that, the agency will have to argue that those emissions pose no foreseeable threat to public health, going against decades of science that show otherwise."

Historical Context and Administration's Climate Stance

David Gellis, a New York Times reporter specializing in climate policy, provides context on President Trump's long-standing skepticism of climate science and his preference for fossil fuels over renewable energy sources.

David Gellis ([01:53]): "President Trump is now making good on that promise to create a series of policy moves that are really detrimental to the clean energy business and quite favorable to the fossil fuel industry."

Gellis also highlights Trump’s campaign efforts to gain support from oil and gas executives, promising deregulation in exchange for financial backing.

David Gellis ([02:10]): "We even saw during his campaign last year, he went to Houston and asked a group of oil and gas executives to raise a billion dollars for him with the promise that he would then strip away regulations in order to help their business."

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2. Elon Musk's DOGE.gov and Government Efficiency

DOGE.gov's Transparency Issues

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE.gov) was initially lauded for its commitment to reducing government spending with promises of "maximally transparent" operations. However, investigative findings by David Farenthal reveal significant discrepancies and obfuscations in DOGE's reported data.

Tracy Mumford ([02:47]): "At the center of that effort has been Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency."

David Farenthal ([02:51]): "We found hundreds of billions, billions of dollars of fraud."

Daphne Farenthal explains that DOGE’s “wall of receipts” on their website is fraught with errors, such as confusing billions with millions and triple-counting contracts. Moreover, DOGE has recently ceased providing detailed breakdowns of its cost-cutting measures, making verification of their claims nearly impossible.

David Farenthal ([03:58]): "Doge is making a generational overhaul in how the government works. ... What they're doing is providing uncheckable data and removing the opportunity for the public to try to verify their claims."

Impact of DOGE's Opaque Reporting

Formerly, DOGE celebrated budget cuts by detailing specific contracts and providing identifiers for public verification. The shift away from this transparency raises concerns about accountability and the true effectiveness of DOGE's initiatives.

David Farenthal ([03:30]): "Here’s why this is important. ... the concern now is that that one little window they provided into their work is closing."

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3. Legislative and Legal Updates

Bipartisan Funding Efforts Falter

Senate Democrats have declared they will reject the Republican-led funding bill, heightening the risk of a government shutdown by midnight. Democrats face a dilemma: supporting the bill could lead to backlash from constituents opposing the Republican agenda, while blocking it risks being blamed for the shutdown.

Tracy Mumford ([04:31]): "Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path without any input from congressional Democrats."

Mahmoud Khalil’s Detention and Deportation Case

Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident and Columbia University graduate, has been detained by immigration authorities on unfounded allegations of terrorism due to his protests against the war in Gaza. His legal team highlighted that Khalil has not been granted a private consultation since his arrest.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "At the hearing, his legal team told a judge that they hadn't been able to talk with Khalil in private since his arrest over the weekend."

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4. Economic Insights

Inflation Trends and Consumer Prices

Recent economic data reveals a slight easing of overall inflation; however, prices for essential items like groceries continue to climb. Notably, egg prices have surged by approximately 60% compared to the previous year, primarily due to a persistent bird flu outbreak.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "Prices did not jump as much for US Consumers last month as some analysts had expected. ... Egg prices, in particular, continue to soar."

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5. High-Profile Legal Battles and Corporate Moves

Sarah Wynn Williams’ Memoir and Legal Challenges

Sarah Wynn Williams, a former Facebook (now Meta) employee, released a memoir titled Careless People that accuses company executives, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, of unprofessional and unethical behavior. The book details incidents such as an absurd demand to gather a million people and inappropriate workplace interactions.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "Her book claims she and her assistant would take turns sleeping in each other's laps and stroking each other's hair."

Meta has responded by denying the allegations and asserting that Wynn Williams breached her non-disparagement agreement. An arbitrator has ordered Williams to cease promoting and distributing the book, though the decision does not prevent the publisher from continuing sales.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "Yesterday, an arbitrator ordered her to stop promoting and distributing copies."

Pokemon Go’s Sale to Saudi Arabian Wealth Fund

The popular augmented reality game Pokemon Go is set to be sold to a Saudi Arabian-owned company as part of the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund's initiative to diversify its economy beyond oil. With 20 million active weekly players, the acquisition aligns with Saudi Arabia's broader strategy of investing heavily in sports and entertainment to enhance its global image.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "It's still popular, with 20 million active players each week. Now it will be part of the vast portfolio owned by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund as part of its plan to diversify its economy beyond oil."

Critics argue that these investments serve to "wash" Saudi Arabia's reputation amidst international concerns over human rights abuses.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "Critics have said the investments are part of an effort to polish the country's reputation after accusations of human rights abuses."

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6. Upcoming Topics

Listeners are teased with previews of upcoming episodes, including President Trump's contentious policies towards Canada, among other stories.

Tracy Mumford ([04:42]): "Those are the headlines today on the Daily ... we'll be back tomorrow."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Headlines offers a comprehensive overview of the Trump administration's aggressive environmental deregulation, scrutinizes the transparency of DOGE.gov's initiatives, and provides updates on critical legislative, legal, and economic issues. Through insightful reporting and authoritative quotes, Tracy Mumford ensures listeners are well-informed about the pivotal events shaping the current socio-political landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• Lee Zeldin ([00:51]): "EPA will be reconsidering many suffocating rules that restrict nearly every sector of our economy."

• Tracy Mumford ([01:12]): "Most significantly, Zeldin wants to undercut the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions at all."

• David Gellis ([01:53]): "President Trump is now making good on that promise to create a series of policy moves that are really detrimental to the clean energy business and quite favorable to the fossil fuel industry."

• David Farenthal ([03:58]): "What they're doing is providing uncheckable data and removing the opportunity for the public to try to verify their claims."

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For more detailed coverage and insights, subscribe to The Headlines through the New York Times Audio app available at nytimes.com/audioapp.

Transcript

[Abdi Latif Dahir]

My name is Abdi Latif Dahir. I'm the East Africa correspondent at the New York Times. I want my work to help our readers understand what's happening here in East Africa and see how it plays a role in the bigger picture. New York Times subscribers keep our journalists reporting from across the map to help you understand the issues shaping our world. If you would like to subscribe, you can do [e-mail] subscribe.

[Tracy Mumford]

From the New York Times, it's the Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, March 13th. Here's what we're covering.

[Lee Zeldin]

Today. I'm pleased to make the largest deregulatory announcement in U.S. history. The Environmental Protection Agency is initiating 31 historic.

[Tracy Mumford]

Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA, has announced that the Trump administration's repealing dozens of the country's most consequential environmental policies. From its limits on pollution from cars and factories to its protections for wetlands.

[Lee Zeldin]

EPA will be reconsidering many suffocating rules that restrict nearly every sector of our economy.

[Tracy Mumford]

Most significantly, Zeldin wants to undercut the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions at all. To do that, the agency will have to argue that those emissions pose no foreseeable threat to public health, going against decades of science that show otherwise. Yesterday's announcement is the latest in a growing list of drastic environmental policy reforms from the Trump administration.

[David Gellis]

For years now, President Trump has disputed the science of climate change and made it clear that he has very little interest in supporting a transition to an economy powered by renewable energy.

[Tracy Mumford]

My colleague David Gellis covers climate policy.

[David Gellis]

We even saw during his campaign last year, he went to Houston and asked a group of oil and gas executives to raise a billion dollars for him with the promise that he would then strip away regulations in order to help their business. Now, they didn't raise exactly a billion dollars. The final figure was closer to 75 million, roughly. Nevertheless, President Trump is now making good on that promise to create a series of policy moves that are really detrimental to the clean energy business and quite favorable to the fossil fuel industry.

[Tracy Mumford]

Since President Trump took office, his administration and its allies have been boasting about the huge savings they say they're bringing for American taxpayers.

[David Farenthal]

We found hundreds of billions, billions of dollars of fraud.

[Tracy Mumford]

At the center of that effort has been Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

[Lee Zeldin]

And we bring the receipts. So people say, like, well, is this real?

[Tracy Mumford]

Just go to doge.gov Musk promised that the effort to cut government spending would be, quote, maximally transparent. But as Doge has posted what it calls a wall of receipts to its website, the Times has found the data's been riddled with errors, like confusing billions with millions or triple counting a single contract. And now, amid increased questions about its work, my colleagues have found that Doge has made it harder to track exactly what it's doing.

[David Farenthal]

Before, when Doge celebrated the cuts it made, it would post details about what it had cut, it would post the name of the contractor whose contract had been cut, and it would post an ID number so you could go back and look up that specific contract in federal contracting databases. What they've done now is to start posting new claims, new savings they say they've achieved without that kind of detail.

[Tracy Mumford]

David Farenthal is an investigative reporter at the Times.

[David Farenthal]

Here's why this is important. Doge is making a generational overhaul in how the government works. There's only one place where they show their work this website. The concern now is that that one little window they provided into their work is closing that what they're doing is providing uncheckable data and removing the opportunity for the public to try to verify their claims.

[Tracy Mumford]

Now three quick updates on stories we've been covering.

[Lee Zeldin]

Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path without any input from congressional Democrats.

[Tracy Mumford]

Senate Democrats say they will refuse to vote for a Republican led funding bill, making a government shutdown tomorrow at midnight significantly more likely. The Democrats say they've had to weigh two bad options. If they were to go along with the Republican plan, they'd face backlash from constituents who want them to stand up to the Republicans agenda. But if they vote to block the spending bill, as they're currently planning to, they risk taking the blame for the disruption of a shutdown. Also, every day that Mahmoud spends in detention in Louisiana is a day too long. Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who was arrested by immigration officers, spoke outside Khalil's first court hearing yesterday to denounce the government's plan to deport him. Khalil's a legal permanent resident and hasn't been charged with any crime. But the Trump administration claims he sided with terrorists when he protested the war in Gaza and has said it wants to revoke his green card. At the hearing, his legal team told a judge that they hadn't been able to talk with Khalil in private since his arrest over the weekend. And new economic data shows that prices did not jump as much for US Consumers last month as some analysts had expected. Instead Inflation eased a little overall, but prices for some staples like groceries are still rising sharply. Egg prices, in particular, continue to soar. They cost about 60% more than they did a year ago, largely due to an ongoing outbreak of bird flu. An explosive new memoir about working at Facebook has set off a legal battle. Sarah Wynn Williams worked at the company from 2011 to 2017 before it changed its name to Meta. It was a pivotal period when Facebook was becoming one of the most influential and frequently used platforms on the planet. In her book Careless People, which came out this week, she describes the company's executives, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, as status obsessed and self absorbed. On a tour Zuckerberg took through Asia, Wynn Williams says she was told to somehow gather a crowd of more than a million people to visit for Sandberg. The book claims she and her assistant would take turns sleeping in each other's laps and stroking each other's hair. The book also details how Facebook struggled to wield its growing power, especially when it came to content moderation, for example, when hate speech and misinformation that spread on the platform ended up inciting a genocide in Myanmar. The Times review of the book called the whole thing, quote, genuinely shocking, an ugly, detailed portrait of one of the most powerful companies in the world. Meta has vehemently denied the allegations in the book and the company's arguing that Wynn Williams violated the non disparagement contract she signed when she worked there. Yesterday, an arbitrator ordered her to stop promoting and distributing copies. The decision does not appear to limit the publisher from continuing to sell the book. And finally, the company that owns Pokemon Go, the runaway hit game that once had the whole world nerding out, announced it will be sold to a company owned by a Saudi Arabian wealth fund. Pokemon Go became a cultural phenomenon when it first launched. The augmented reality game sent people running around the streets, even onto private property, trying to capture cartoon monsters on their phones. It's still popular, with 20 million active players each week. Now it will be part of the vast portfolio owned by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund as part of its plan to diversify its economy beyond oil. The Saudi government has said it will invest $38 billion in video games by 2030. The plan mirrors what the country's done with sports, buying into soccer teams and launching its own golf league. Critics have said the investments are part of an effort to polish the country's reputation after accusations of human rights abuses. First they say it was sports washing, now it's games washing. Those are the headlines today on the Daily how President Trump's aggressive stance towards Canada has riled up Canadians. That's next in the New York Times audio app. Or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.