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6h ago

White House Keeps 45 DOGE Staff on the Job During Shutdown

The exemption echoes a past carve-out for the U.S. Digital Service, which operated through earlier shutdowns using fee-based funding.

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Overview

  • An Oct. 2 staffing memo from White House Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher lists all 45 employees in the U.S. DOGE Service as exempt from furloughs during the funding lapse.
  • The memo offers no explanation for DOGE’s exemption, though coverage notes the predecessor U.S. Digital Service previously stayed open during shutdowns through separate fee funding.
  • The Executive Office of the President is furloughing 554 of 1,733 staff, about 32%, compared with far higher furlough levels under the 2018 plan.
  • The plan retains more personnel across key offices, including 437 on duty at OMB versus 161 in 2018, 175 in the White House Office, and 40 in the executive residence.
  • Officials have signaled they may use the shutdown to scale back programs and have threatened permanent layoffs, and the press office sent a partisan auto-reply citing “Democrat Shutdown” language.