The leader of the federal workers’ union has claimed that reports from President Donald Trump’s administration regarding government waste are “misinformation.”
Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, argues that claims about the federal government being “too big” are false.
Kelley made the claims during an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Thursday.
He was commenting on a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who lost their jobs from recent mass firings.
Kelley’s union was one of the organizations behind the original lawsuit.
Tapper noted that many Americans believe the government is “too big” and “too bloated” and needs to be cut down.
He asked Kelley what he would say to critics who argue the federal government needs to be reduced.
Kelley said the accusation is “false.”
He continued by claiming that the government hasn’t grown in decades.
“I think that’s misinformation,” Kelley alleged.
“And this administration is very good at putting out false information.
“The government today is the same size it was in the ’70s.
“The population has exploded, but the amount of federal workers has not.
“So that‘s just false information about it being too big.
“It’s the same size as it was in the ’70s.”
WATCH:
Kelley has been a harsh critic of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He has blasted the efforts of Trump, Musk, and DOGE to cut federal spending, government waste and fraud, employees, and agencies.
In February, he released a statement condemning Musk’s demand that employees list five things they accomplished in the last week or risk losing their jobs.
“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Kelley said.
Despite Kelley’s criticism, a CBS/YouGov poll earlier this month found that 54% of Americans believe that Musk and DOGE should have at least some influence over government spending and operations.
READ MORE – DOGE Cancels Over 200,000 Taxpayer-Funded Federal Government Credit Cards
