I mentioned earlier this week the on-going litigation about the DOGE all-government-employee email system (GWES) that Musk micro-bros set up in their first days taking over the Office of Personnel Management. To deal with the various legal issues tied to setting up this new email system DOGE/OPM made an official Privacy Impact Statement about how the system would be used and how it wouldn’t. Mostly specifically all GWES emails would always be voluntary. You could respond or not respond. Your choice. But obviously that was a lie. (To understand all the ins and outs of the litigation definitely read the original post if you haven’t already.)

Earlier today Lt. Gen Telita Crosland, director of the Defense Health Agency, was pushed out as part of the ongoing Pentagon purge. The official internal agency communication said “retired” but I’m told she was relieved of duty or at least forced in to retirement.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just sent an email to all Pentagon civilian employees informing them that OPM/DOGE will be sending a new “accomplishments” demand email on Monday March 3rd. Unlike the earlier guidance which requested DOD employees “pause” and not reply to the first “accomplishments” demand email, they now must reply with their 5 bullet points of accomplishments within 48 hours. “Non-compliance may lead to further review.”

New survey data out from Navigator research shows the profound public concern and anger over the cuts in the Musk wilding spree. Unsurprisingly, voters are more concerned than almost anything by Trump and Musk shutting down cancer cure research (and research into cures for other diseases) in the U.S. 71% of independents says they’re concerned or very concerned about it. 65% percent of voters over all. It’s also something they’ve heard the least about. Here’s the raw data for the poll and a powerpoint.

There are two good, big feature pieces out from the Times and the Journal this morning about the origins and rampage of DOGE. They don’t break a lot of new news, but they both bring the overall story together in compelling and new ways. And they do add some important details, especially how far back the planning for DOGE went and how Musk and associated techies were recruiting far-right stool pigeons and would-be accomplices among mid-level employees at various agencies who could be elevated to taking over agencies. Also there in spades, though not surprising, is how much Musk’s anger at federal regulators powered his dedication to the wilding spree. Neither story quite connects that thread to particulars, but you can see it specifically in the especial animus toward the FAA and CFPB.

While the Times and Journal articles certainly hold back from the language, the plain facts of what both pieces describe make clear that the best conceptual model for DOGE is something between an “insider threat” action and a terrorist operation. The emphasis on secrecy, misdirection and illegality is all there, the focus on seizing control of central nodes of power and destroying things before the true stakeholders can figure out what happened. Both good reads.

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“Let’s be clear, the Democrat demand is really simple,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told TPM, with a mocking emphasis on the word “demand” on Thursday. “It’s that the President commits to following the law. That’s it. It’s not a big deal.”

Emine Yücel has more here.

It’s not precisely a town hall event as we normally describe it. But a staffer for Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) was set to appear a League of Women Voters town hall event at the Dolores Public Library in Montezuma County. But when she arrived and saw the crowd, she literally bolted and apparently then also left town. Here’s a write-up in the Durango Herald.

Thanks for TPM Reader EO for flagging this news to our attention.

A short time ago the Human Resources office of the Social Security Administration sent out what it titled a major “organizational restructuring” of the agency. As one SSA vet put it to me, this is a way to say “we are giving you a chance to leave on your own accord before we fire you.”

“Employees are going to jump at this,” the same person told me.

Memo after the jump.

A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Kate and Josh talk Congress, angry town halls and a chainsaw-wielding Musk.