Over the past nine months, the Trump Administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has painted a deeply cynical picture of how to reform government, marked by the denigration and firing of employees, and the marginalization of the scientific community.
While the US government remains on track for record outlays, many of Trump’s deepest cuts have targeted America’s cities, which tend to be disproportionately liberal. Mayors have gone to court in an attempt to restore funding. But many are now realizing they may also need a contingency plan for how to get by with less.