DOGE’s Battle Against the Elite, Comey’s Disturbing Spy Schemes, and More Commentary

From the Right: DOGE’s Assault on the Government Class

Critics of DOGE often claim Musk is “attacking defenseless civil servants,” yet the rise of government has led to “a significant and growing protected class” of “public employees whose salaries and pensions greatly surpass those in the private sector,” says Joel Kotkin from Spiked. “In the past, US government jobs were moderately compensated but came with solid pensions and job security. Now, many government workers are more white-collar than blue-collar” and “are increasingly aligned with the Democratic Party.” Conversely, “those in manual labor and small business owners… predominantly back the GOP.” Therefore, “the dispute over DOGE fundamentally concerns the extent of power and resources the government class should possess, and who it should serve.”

Conservative: Comey’s Disturbing Sex-Spy Scheme

The FBI is investigating “the agency’s scheme from a decade ago to infiltrate the campaign of presidential candidate Donald Trump using two female undercover ‘honeypot’ operatives,” reports Kerry Picket of The Washington Times. This “covert investigation,” initiated in 2015 by James Comey and only disclosed in 2024 due to a whistleblower, appears to have been a mere “fishing expedition to uncover any incriminating evidence against Mr. Trump.” Once the operation was terminated, “one of the undercover agents chose to transfer to the CIA to avoid being a potential witness,” while the other “now holds a senior position at the FBI in a key field office.” It’s no surprise that FBI leaders insisted those involved “never speak about the operation again.”

Justice Watch: Major Breach, Minimal Consequence

According to the Biden Justice Department, in 2017, Charles Littlejohn accepted a position at Booz Allen Hamilton, an IRS contractor, with the aim of accessing and leaking President Trump’s tax returns, notes Byron York from the Washington Examiner. He subsequently provided these documents to The New York Times (despite it “not generating the massive scandal anticipated by anti-Trumpers”). Additionally, Littlejohn shared a wealth of IRS data concerning “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals” with ProPublica. Records confirm he violated the privacy of 405,427 taxpayers, yet Biden’s prosecutors allowed him to plead “guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax information.” It’s worth noting: under Alvin Bragg’s guidelines, they could have “charged Littlejohn with 405,427 counts of disclosure.”

Oscars News: Emilia Pérez Signals Hollywood’s Decline

The controversy surrounding the Academy Awards and ‘Emilia Pérez’ highlights “everything that’s gone awry with the Oscars today,” argues Sasha Stone at Tablet. Following its 13 nominations, the film encountered a public relations nightmare due to star Karla Sofia Gascón’s previous “racist, bigoted tweets,” which “read more like MAGA trolling than the virtuous musings of the first transgender nominee for Best Actress.” The repercussions? “Netflix opted not to cover her travel costs” and subsequently excluded her name and face from all promotional materials for the awards, although they have since softened this response, and Gascón will attend the ceremonies at Netflix’s expense. This quintessential cancel-culture narrative “could make for a better movie than almost any film Hollywood has released in a decade, yet no filmmakers are courageous enough to tell it.”

Budget Watch: GOP Not Cutting Medicaid

Medicaid “has vastly outgrown its original framework and requires significant reform,” cautions the editorial board at The Wall Street Journal. Democrats “expanded it” to serve as a “broader entitlement for able-bodied, working-age adults with lower incomes,” and “Democratic-led states have discovered methods to exploit it.” Currently, media outlets “allege that Republicans aim to undermine Medicaid” when, in reality, they’re “not even suggesting a cut,” merely a more gradual growth. If Republicans don’t intervene, “states will persist in draining Medicaid.” GOP members should position their reforms as enhancements to Medicaid services “for those truly in need while steering it onto a fiscally sustainable path,” potentially through measures like per-capita spending caps. “Why should taxpayers from Allentown and Akron subsidize the reckless spending by Democrats in Albany and Sacramento?”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board