'DOGE Cuts Hurt Us Too': Republican Districts in Chaos
President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Photo courtesy of The White House. Public domain.
For most Americans, seeking a maximally effective and efficient government seems like a no-brainer. In communities that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, the promises of streamlined government and fiscal responsibility sounded like common sense. But now, many of those same voters are watching their neighbors pack up desks, field job termination emails, and join protest lines — victims of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its sweeping federal job cuts.
What began as a crusade against waste is now unraveling livelihoods. Who's actually being affected by these cuts? And what are their representatives doing to protect their voters?
Federal Cuts, Local Effects
While Washington, D.C., has seen deep cuts from DOGE, roughly 80% of federal workers live outside the capital — and many are in solidly Republican areas. More than half of the 100 districts with the highest concentration of federal workers are represented by Republicans, as reported by the Associated Press.
And those red districts are already feeling the pain. In Ogden, Utah, the IRS is the town's largest employer, but those jobs are disappearing fast. Torrie, an Ogden IRS employee who declined to give her last name out of fear of retaliation, says her office is being gutted. In a statement to the Financial Times, she proclaimed that DOGE is "actively working to destroy our lives and the livelihood of our local economy."
Torrie observed that many of her former teammates made less than $40,000 a year even as the office recouped millions of dollars for U.S. taxpayers. Yet Torrie noted that, particularly overnight in her already understaffed office, "people were gone," as reported by the Financial Times.
Jeremy, another Ogden IRS employee with a 20-year career, told the Financial Times that the cuts seemed to have been implemented with "no forethought" and could spiral into "an economic disaster" if they continue.
Meanwhile, in the deep red Florida 1st district, cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs have caused delays in care and literal jams. "We need an emergency room," veteran and VA volunteer Tim Chandler said to the Associated Press, "We need a bigger building. We need incentives for more doctors."
Red district voters aren't staying quiet, either. In a town hall in Baker City, Oregon, Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz faced some hard questions from his constituents; one woman in particular demanded that future cuts consider the ordinary person. As quoted by CBS News, she told Bentz through tears, "I'm all for fiscal responsibility and downsizing the government. We've been through downsizing before and you can do it in a way that is humane and treats people with dignity."
The Rock and the Hard Place
Republican politicians representing affected districts find themselves in a tricky position.
On the one hand, their constituents ideologically favor cutting government spending. A poll by Harvard CAPS/Harris found that 70% of Americans believed that waste and inefficiencies are major parts of government spending, and 85% of Republicans think DOGE is making major strides in cutting spending, according to the Financial Times.
On the other hand, Republicans are facing increasing heat from their voters as they feel the real-world effects of those cuts. GOP strategist and Trump campaign alum Brian Seitchik said to Fox 4 Kansas City, "There is certainly a disconnect right now between the theory of DOGE, the cutting of fat in government ... and what is seemingly a blowtorch as opposed to a scalpel approach to solving these problems."
Republican politicians are now trying to balance respecting their voters' beliefs and shielding them from the effects of DOGE. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Congressional Republican, told local news that he had prevented cuts to his district, including to a hospital and a social security office, by bringing issues to Musk's attention. In a quote from the Financial Times, he said, "You've got to be able to advocate for your constituents to make the case. But at the end of the day there's nothing wrong with the executive branch looking at every facility. We have redundant facilities, we have waste. We're running a $2tn deficit. So, I'm not going to get mad at somebody who is bringing me ideas about how to save money."
The Faces Behind the Desks
Krystal Kirkpatrick, a union official who's worked at the Ogden IRS center for 12 years, noted to the Financial Times the problem with cutting federal jobs in red districts like his own: "You can't meet anyone here who is not touched by a federal employee."
It's a reminder that, with DOGE cuts, it's not ideology that is at stake — it's paychecks, clinics, and futures.
References: Republican politicians face mounting anger over Doge cuts | GOP grapples with mounting frustration over DOGE cuts | DOGE's Federal Job Cuts Threaten Republican Districts Too | Where are federal jobs affected by DOGE cuts? A look at congressional districts across the US | DOGE cuts are testing some conservative voters’ faith in special election for Matt Gaetz’s old seat | GOP lawmakers confronted by constituents angry with Trump-Musk cuts
