¶ Overview
- Finstad was a vocal supporter of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” As soon as Trump was elected Finstad joinedthe Congressional “Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE)” Caucus in order to support the agency’s agenda, and said he was “eager” to help DOGE enact its agenda.
- While Finstad was enabling DOGE, Minnesotans were suffering due to the agency’s actions. DOGE’s downsizing efforts were affecting the federal government’s ability to deliver services to seniors, and the $296 million in federal grants cut by DOGE threatened to put a hole in Minnesota’s state budget. More than 158,000 Minnesotans in Finstad’s district relied on Social Security benefits and more than 3,000 were employed by the federal government.
¶ Finstad Supported DOGE Despite The Detrimental Impact It Had On Minnesotans
¶ Finstad Was A Member Of The HOuse DOGE Caucus
Finstad Joined The House DOGE Caucus And Said He Was “Eager” To Help The Agency Rein In “Reckless Government Spending.” According to the Post Bulletin, “GOP Rep. Brad Finstad said he has joined the House DOGE Caucus to support a newly created advisory team led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy that aims to slash spending, regulations and personnel within the federal government. ‘I am eager to join my colleagues in working together to address the growing national debt by reining in reckless government spending,’ said Finstad, a Republican from New Ulm, in his newsletter to First Congressional District constituents.” [Post Bulletin, 12/24/24]
December 2024: Finstad Attended The First Meeting Of The House DOGE Caucus And Vowed To “Rein In Government Waste.” Rep. Brad Finstad tweeted, “Great to join the first meeting of the House DOGE Caucus. Together, we will deliver our promise to the American people to rein in government waste and get Washington’s reckless spending under control.”
[Twitter, @RepFinstad, 12/17/24]
¶ 2025: at the social security administration, doge had forced mass layoffs, longer wait times and frequent website crashes
HEADLINE: "Social Security Stops Reporting Call Wait Times And Other Metrics" [Washington Post, 6/20/25]
HEADLINE: "As Social Security Services Are Cut Back, Millions Of Seniors Face Long Drives" [Axios, 4/8/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Website Keeps Crashing, As DOGE Demands Cuts To IT Staff" [Washington Post, 4/7/25]
HEADLINE: "Social Security Faces Thousands More Job Cuts Even With Service In Tailspin" [Washington Post, 4/4/25]
The Social Security Administration Website Crashed Four Times In Ten Days In March Because Servers Were Overloaded. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Field Office Managers At Social Security Offices Had To Answer Phones In Place Of Receptionists Because DOGE Had Pushed Out So Many Federal Employees. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
DOGE Eliminated The Social Security Administration’s System To Monitor Customer Experience. According to the Washington Post, "The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
Early February-Late March 2025: AARP Said More Than 2,000 People Per Week Had Called Expressing Concerns About Whether They Would Continue To Get Their Social Security Benefits. According to the Washington Post, "Alarmed lawmakers are straining to answer questions back home from angry constituents. Calls have flooded into congressional offices. AARP announced Monday that more than 2,000 people a week have called the retiree organization since early February — double the usual number — with concerns about whether benefits they paid for during their working careers will continue. Social Security is the primary source of income for about 40 percent of older Americans." [Washington Post, 3/25/25]
¶ Minnesotans Suffered Due To DOGE Cuts That Finstad Enabled
2024: 158,838 Minnesotans In The 1st Congressional District Relied On Social Security Benefits. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2024, 158,838 Minnesotans in the 1st congressional district received Social Security benefits. [Social Security Administration, Minnesota, 2024]
2023: There Were An Estimated 3,400 Federal Workers In Finstad’s District. According to the Center for American Progress,
[Center for American Progress, 3/17/25]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: “Finstad's Loyal To Dictator, Not His Constituents” [Letter to the Editor – Free Press, 3/6/25]
DOGE Threatened To Cut Fourteen Federal Office Leases Across Minnesota, But Did Not Share A Timeline Or Any Details About The Plans. According to MinnPost, “Minnesotans working for federal agencies leasing space in the state may soon find themselves searching for new office space. Fourteen different offices including multiple National Park Service locations, local branches of the Internal Revenue Service in Bloomington and St. Cloud, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration offices in Hibbing may be in search of new leases due to cost-cutting measures from the Department of Government Efficiency, a Trump administration initiative tasked with reducing federal spending. But it isn’t clear how many of DOGE and General Service Administration’s planned lease terminations are actually underway. DOGE’s own accounting of their grant, contract and lease cuts has taken multiple error-filled forms since the department formed in late January following Trump’s inauguration. And none of the current lease termination notices in Minnesota or the rest of the country appears to be backed up with any secondary documentation.” [MinnPost, 3/19/25]
DOGE Cancelled $296 Million In Funds For Minnesota With $56 Million More At Risk Of Being Cut. According to StateScoop, “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday shared a new data dashboard residents can use to track how federal funds that have been cancelled or disrupted by the Trump administration are impacting state services. Cuts to federal funding, which have been a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s second term and his Department of Government Efficiency unit, have been wide-ranging. In Minnesota, they’ve included grants for tracking measles and avian influenza, providing heating assistance and mitigating flooding. According to the dashboard, the federal government has cancelled $296 million in funds for Minnesota and almost $56 million more is at risk of cancellation.” [StateScoop, 4/9/25]
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Warned That Additional Funding Cuts Could Create Funding Holes In The State’s Budget. According to StateScoop, “Any additional cuts could create funding holes in the state’s budget, according to a press release from Walz’s office. ‘Decisions made by billionaires in Washington are cutting real programs that save Minnesotans money, monitor disease outbreaks, and keep us safe. And they’re just getting started on their promised cuts to Social Security and Medicaid,’ Walz said in the release. ’Sweeping changes at the federal level are happening with little to no warning or public process. By tracking these changes, we’re doing what we can to keep Minnesotans informed on what we know and what’s to come.’” [StateScoop, 4/9/25]