Musk's DOGE Cuts Are Hampering U.S. Readiness Amid the Iran War

President Donald Trump entered his second term promising to slash “billions and billions of dollars” from the federal budget. With the backing of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the administration moved quickly to eliminate programs and cut thousands of federal jobs it deemed unnecessary. A year later, those cuts are now affecting the government’s ability to respond to crises as the United States becomes increasingly involved in a widening conflict with Iran.

Current and former officials say that reductions across several federal agencies have weakened the government’s capacity to respond to domestic emergencies, monitor terrorism threats, defend against cyberattacks, broadcast information into Iran, and assist Americans stranded overseas.

The issue is receiving renewed scrutiny after U.S. strikes on Iranian targets escalated into a broader regional conflict.

Lawmakers Question Scope of Cuts

Leaders on both sides of the aisle have long warned that the sweeping reductions overseen by DOGE could undermine national security.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania and former FBI special agent, said the cuts may have gone too far.

“I think it went overboard,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was too aggressive, too fast, too soon.” Fitzpatrick criticized DOGE’s approach as using a “sledgehammer” to reshape government agencies and said lawmakers should examine whether the reductions have created risks for national defense and national security.

So far, the military’s funding for the war effort itself has not been significantly affected, though lawmakers are already discussing the possibility of additional defense spending worth tens of billions of dollars.

Stranded Americans Highlight State Department Struggles

The challenges faced by Americans trying to leave the Middle East as the war escalated revealed what some former officials say is a diminished State Department capacity following last year’s layoffs.

The State Department created a 24-hour task force to assist Americans in the region after the first strikes. But callers to the department’s emergency line initially heard a message warning them not to rely on the U.S. government for evacuation assistance. That message was later updated.

Confusion increased when the State Department’s top consular official posted on social media urging Americans to “depart now” from 14 Middle Eastern countries before evacuation flights had begun and while most commercial flights were grounded. The first chartered evacuation flight carrying hundreds of Americans did not arrive in the United States until five days after the conflict began. Since then, the department has organized more than two dozen evacuation flights transporting thousands of Americans out of the region.

Former officials say the slow and confusing response reflects the loss of experienced personnel. “The administration thoughtlessly terminated people with crisis experience,” said one former official involved in evacuation operations. “Now they’re facing a major crisis without the depth they once had.”

According to the American Foreign Service Association, more than 1,300 State Department employees were terminated during workforce reductions last summer. The union also reported that roughly a quarter of the Foreign Service workforce has resigned, retired, or left their posts since the start of Trump’s second term.

State Department officials dispute claims that the layoffs affected overseas operations or consular assistance.

A senior department official said no personnel working abroad to assist Americans were impacted by the reductions.

Still, the Foreign Service union says the loss of experienced staff — including specialists in Farsi and Arabic — has weakened the department’s crisis-response capacity.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the consequences are becoming clear. “There was always going to be a cost to the shortsighted gutting of the State Department,” Meeks said. “Now we’re seeing the consequences.”

Concerns About Domestic Preparedness

Critics say the cuts have also affected U.S. preparedness at home. Officials and industry leaders say staffing reductions at the Department of Homeland Security — particularly at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — have slowed the government’s sharing of intelligence about potential Iranian cyber threats.

Some private-sector security groups say engagement with federal cyber officials has dropped sharply compared with previous crises. Andy Jabbour, CEO of cybersecurity firm Gate 15, said the lack of leadership at key agencies is alarming. “Our nation is at war, and we don’t have a DHS secretary or a CISA director,” he said.

Other cybersecurity officials warn that reduced intelligence sharing could leave critical infrastructure vulnerable.

“To truly secure the homeland, the government must bring its intelligence to the table,” said Errol Weiss, chief security officer of Health-ISAC. “Otherwise, critical infrastructure is dangerously exposed.”

FEMA and Emergency Response Concerns

Similar concerns have been raised about the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Current and former officials say a wave of departures among senior leaders, combined with budget cuts and canceled contracts, has weakened the agency’s ability to prepare for potential domestic attacks.

Officials say FEMA staff are now spending large amounts of time dealing with administrative and staffing issues rather than focusing on preparedness. “When Russia invaded Ukraine, the government created a joint task force to prepare for potential domestic threats,” one senior FEMA official said. “You could argue we should be doing the same thing now.”

FBI Firings Raise Additional Questions

Separate from the DOGE cuts, recent firings at the FBI have also raised concerns.

Just days before the U.S. began military operations against Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed a dozen agents from a counterintelligence unit that monitors threats from Iran. The agents were reportedly removed because they had previously worked on the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents.

The firings weakened the FBI’s CI-12 unit, which tracks foreign intelligence operations inside the United States.

An FBI spokesperson said the bureau continues to maintain a strong counterintelligence operation nationwide.

Loss of “Soft Power” Tools

Former officials also warn that reductions to government-funded media outlets have weakened America’s influence abroad. Employees at Voice of America say the broadcaster — long used to deliver independent news into closed societies — has been significantly diminished after layoffs and budget cuts.

“A shell of our former self,” one veteran employee said.

Efforts last year to dismantle the organization resulted in furloughs, canceled satellite contracts, and disruptions to broadcasts in the Middle East. Some employees say those changes have made it harder to reach audiences in Iran during the current conflict.

“We had a really good tool in the information war, and now it’s gone,” the employee said. “You can’t just flip it back on overnight.” Former officials also say the government’s understanding of conditions inside Iran may be weakening as programs focused on human rights and civil society were reduced.

Those programs historically provided valuable insights to U.S. policymakers by gathering information from activists and regional contacts.

Without them, critics say, Washington may have fewer sources of information about developments inside Iran.