Arizona AG, along with several others, holds DOGE impact meeting
PHOENIX - The Arizona Attorney General, along with AGs from several other states, held a community impact hearing Wednesday night on the Trump administration's DOGE efforts to cut back on spending.
What we know:
Elon Musk, spearheading DOGE's cost-cutting initiative, has already managed significant layoffs within the federal government. Just last month, thousands of federal employees were let go, and agencies were directed to brace for additional cutbacks.
Arizona's AG, Kris Mayes, was joined by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
The hearing is one of several that will be held.
"The Community Impact Hearings will give Attorney General Mayes and her fellow Attorneys General the chance to hear from Arizona community members about the real-world threats of the ongoing federal firings and funding freezes, from public safety to healthcare. The town hall will also give the public the opportunity to hear directly from the Attorneys General about what they’re doing to protect people," a news release from Mayes' office said.
Mayes said during the hearing, "Heartbreaking phone calls and emails have been pouring into my office over the past month."
AG Kris Mayes works to stop actions of Trump, Musk and DOGE amid federal layoffs
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced a new deadline for federal employees as the Trump administration and Elon Musk say they're taking swift action against federal waste.
Dozens of people took to the mic for public comment, sharing how these cuts have hurt them instead of helped.
"Reform should be done lawfully. Through the constitutional processes that exist for that very purpose, not through unilateral decisions that upend the livelihoods of hard-working Americans, throw entire communities into chaos or violate the privacy of American citizens," Mayes said.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez echoed Mayes.
"If you want to make America great, if you want to make the government work, then do it by following the law, respecting the constitution," he said.
'No oversight, no transparency’
"What's behind this massive federal firings? A new federal department created without congressional approval and with apparently, absolutely no oversight, no transparency, and no accountability," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says America is run on a democracy, not executive orders.
"We are going to make sure that this country's promise is delivered on through a democratic electoral process, not some guy who issues executive orders because he feels like it on one given day," Ellison said.
What they're saying:
One by one, the AGs heard from an audience in Phoenix who were either recently fired or had funding cut for their programs.
"I was heartbroken to receive an email on Monday, Feb. 24 that said I was terminated immediately. That meant that not only could veterans no longer access the services I provided, but I could not follow my own code of ethics, providing services to the veterans."
"Despite the clear data-driven history of energy efficiency since the 1970s, the freezes are having a devastating impact and many programs from the Inflation Reduction Act in the bipartisan infrastructure law are now currently placed on hold until further notice."
"These lands are under threat due to actions by the Trump administration, including the firing of thousands of public lands workers who care for public lands and the people who visit them."
"I take care of people from age day 1 to age 100 and 1/3 of my patients are covered by Medicaid. Losing coverage for Arizonans will make our state less well, less healthy. It will put our rural and safety net hospitals at risk."
This was the first community impact hearing, and Mayes says they plan to travel to other states to hear perspectives from everyone.
The other side:
DOGE estimates it's saved taxpayers around $105 billion, as of March 5, 2025. It says that's more than $650 per taxpayer.
The agency attributes the savings to "a combination of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancelations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancelations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings."