The network news continues their prolonged campaign against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its efforts to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency in government operations. As recent history shows, reports focus on the human victim side of DOGE cuts. Comes now the NBC Nightly News, and their spotlight on FEMA.
Watch the report in its entirety, as aired on NBC Nightly News on Monday, March 10th, 2025 (click “expand” to view transcript):
https://www.mrctv.org/node/592877
LESTER HOLT: Elon Musk tonight claiming savings to taxpayers from layoffs in the federal government workforce but in Alabama, NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez speaking to former FEMA employees who say the cuts have gone too far.
GABE GUTIERREZ: Just days after President Trump placed new limits on Elon Musk's downsizing of the federal bureaucracy, placing Cabinet secretaries in charge of layoffs, Musk tonight touting cooperation.
ELON MUSK: What we do is in consultation with the Cabinet secretaries and with their departments.
GUTIERREZ: Did you ever think this would happen?
AILEEN RENAUD: No.
GUTIERREZ: Air Force veteran and mother of two Aileen Reneau had been working at FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness here in Anniston, Alabama. She helped train first responders until she was laid off on Presidents' Day.
RENEAU: I thought: “Well, they're going to take a scalpel to fraud, waste, and abuse, not just hack off the entire limb.”
GUTIERREZ: Since Inauguration Day, more than 200 FEMA employees have been cut, just 1% of the 20,000 employees in the FEMA workforce. A government watchdog report in 2022 found the agency was understaffed by 35%. Also among FEMA's layoffs, Marine Corps veteran and father of three John Wippler.
JOHN WIPPLER: I'm sure there are some things that need to be cut down and removed, but does everything need to be?
GUTIERREZ: Under fire for its response to Hurricane Helene last year, FEMA drew backlash from President Trump.
DONALD TRUMP: And FEMA’s turned out to be a disaster. (VIDEO SWIPE) I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly, we pay a percentage to the state.
GUTIERREZ: But Aileen Reneau has this message for the president.
RENEAU: Really look at what you're doing to families and individuals across America in small towns, towns, counties, and states that voted for you. And realize that you're not draining the swamp. You are just hurting your everyday blue-collar and white-collar workers that were trying to be public servants and help you make America Great Again.
GUTIERREZ: Also today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that 83% of all foreign aid programs under USAID would be cancelled. Lester.
HOLT: Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.
Gutiérrez could have done this story from D.C., where there is undoubtedly no shortage of fired federal workers. But he chose to travel to Alabama, a purely political decision.
The idea of this “news” story as a political exercise becomes more self-evident when you scratch the surface of the report, and consider that only 1% of FEMA’s workforce has been cut. 200 employees total. Furthermore, Gutierrez made sure to locate two military veterans- a profile of potential Trump voters (we don’t know for sure) in a very red state.
Credit, I suppose, to Gutiérrez for noting for the record that FEMA as a whole is on the chopping block due to its bureaucratic and slow response to Hurricane Helene, among other storms. We will note, however, that none of the employees terminated for politicizing hurricane response were sought for comment. That’s how you distinguish between actual news and propaganda, which these days is all over the place.
