The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second administration have been marked by chaos, demolition and waste, with thousands of civil servants arbitrarily fired and countless critical services dealing with everything from public health to food for the poor disrupted, supposedly in the name of saving money and greater efficiency.
There is no doubt that the federal government needs reform and modernization, but it should be done deliberatively, not with a sledgehammer, within the bounds of the law and with assurances that important services will remain intact and will be delivered in ways that best serve the public good.
Seeking to take stock of the breathtaking destruction, my organization, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, has compiled a list that we are calling “100 Harms in 100 Days,” a snapshot of the turmoil and dysfunction initiated by the president and his ill-named Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk.
