#AltGov: the secret network of federal workers resisting Doge from the inside

theguardian.com ^ | 2/26/2025 | Timothy Pratt

[ransomnote]

Government employees fight the Trump administration’s chaos by organizing and publishing information on Bluesky style="color: var(--drop-cap); font-weight: 500;">After seeing Elon Musk’s X post on Saturday afternoon about an email that would soon land in the inboxes of 2.3 million federal employees asking them to list five things they did the week before, a clandestine network of employees and contractors at dozens of federal agencies began talking on an encrypted app about how to respond.

Employees on a four-day, 10-hours-a-day schedule wouldn’t even see the email until Tuesday – past the deadline for responding – some noted. There was also a bit of snark: “bonus points to anyone who responds that they spent their government subsidy on hookers and blow,” one worker said.

Within hours, the network had agreed on a recommended response: break up the oath federal employees take when hired into five bullet points and send them back in an email: “1. I supported and defended the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

“2. I bore true faith and allegiance to the same,” and so on.

It was only the latest effort by a growing and increasingly busy group banding together to “expose harmful policies, defend public institutions and equip citizens with tools to push back against authoritarianism”, according to Lynn Stahl, a contractor with Veterans Affairs and a member of the network.

SNIP

Calling itself #AltGov, the network has developed a visible, public-facing presence in recent weeks through Bluesky accounts, most of which bear the names or initials of federal agencies, aimed at getting information out to the public – and correcting disinformation – about the chaos being unleashed by the Trump administration.

[Chuckster]

This is not the President you are used to.

[grey_whiskers]

Read the article.

There are just FORTY accounts on SkyBlue.

Pure propaganda.

Revoke the US passports of every last employee of this “news agancy”

[Vision]

It’s called the Deep State, Brits.

[sauropod]

bkmk

[Migraine]

i.e., “fire at will”.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[T. Rustin Noone]

I don’t think that these people realize that Elon is unleashing his AI on them. I have been following the Nerds as they bounce from agency to agency and been amazed at how quickly they are coming up with boondoggles, fraud and grift. I think it is that they are collecting the electronic data and the Musk AI is crunching the numbers at the speed of light and spitting out conclusions as fast as the printers can handle the data.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Yes, that makes total sense. You nailed it. This is a new generation, unpolluted by hippies, boomers, and Gen X. They are pursuing the evidence, not trying to fit the evidence to the ideology. And they have the tech savvy to do so.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I asked Grok "Why are you slow today?" It responded: "I’m not trying to be slow—sometimes the gears just take a moment to grind, you know? Could be a busy day in the digital ether, or maybe I’m overanalyzing how to perfectly answer you. I’ll pick up the pace—what’s on your mind next?" So I then asked "Are disgruntled federal workers using you to plot how to stymie President Trump?" Grok responded: "No evidence suggests that disgruntled federal workers are using me to plot against President Trump—or anyone else, for that matter. I’m an AI designed to assist and provide information, not a tool for organizing resistance or conspiracies. If workers are upset, they might vent on X or other platforms, but I don’t have any insight into that beyond what’s publicly posted. Want me to check X for chatter on federal worker sentiments? I can dig into what’s being said out there." Me: "Yes, please check X for federal plotters." Grok: "I’ve looked into recent posts on X about federal workers and any potential plotting against President Trump. There’s some buzz out there, but it’s mostly speculation and sentiment rather than hard evidence. A few posts, like one from a user claiming a leaked Zoom call shows federal employees conspiring to sabotage the administration, have popped up recently—dated around February 25, 2025. Others, from mid-January, suggest nearly half of federal workers might resist Trump by slow-walking initiatives or disrupting operations. There’s also mention of federal unions forming a legal coalition in December 2024, allegedly led by a DNC-funded lawyer, to counter Trump’s agenda.

These claims float around, but they’re light on specifics—no verified leaks, names, or documents to back them up. It’s more like a pulse of frustration or suspicion from certain corners of X, especially among Trump supporters. On the flip side, federal workers might just be anxious about job cuts or policy shifts, as seen in news reports about mass resignations and firings since Trump took office. Without concrete proof, it’s tough to say if this is organized plotting or just grumbling amplified online. What do you think—want me to dig deeper into something specific?