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Clinton reduced the federal workforce by more than 377,000 employees. Within weeks of his inauguration, he signed an executive order calling on agencies to cut 100,000 jobs over three years, with 10% or more coming from high-level federal workers. In 1994, Clinton signed the bipartisan Federal Workforce Restructuring Act, which offered $25,000 to buyout non-Defense Department workers. By the end of his term, Clinton reduced the federal government's workforce by more than 377,000 employees. But that all unfolded over several years, and with the help of Congress. In an attempt to defend the Department of Government Efficiency's controversial moves, Elon...

A National Public Radio host tried to spin the atrocious April jobs report numbers by accusing GOP governors of pushing people to go back to work when jobs aren’t available. Fact-check: Millions of jobs were available. NPR’s All Things Considered weekend host Michel Martin conducted an interview headlined, “Conservative Economist Blames High Unemployment On 'Richer' Benefits.” While interviewing American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Martin stated: “Well, you know, the jobs figures came out, the unemployment figures came out last week. And many people were shocked.” She then pivoted to attack GOP governors with a bonkers angle: “The economy only...

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former head of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, says that if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on a budget with significant spending cuts, “spending just keeps going up in an uninterrupted fashion as far as the eye can see. By 2016, all you can see is unending red ink.” He added that he has little confidence that the congressional budget committee meeting officially for just the second time on Wednesday will be able to agree on a budget for the rest of the fiscal year that puts the federal government on an economically sustainable course by...

CNN business correspondent Christine Romans claimed Monday that "any serious budget expert's analysis" concludes that taxes must increase. During CNN's coverage of President Obama's address concerning his deficit reduction plan, Romans asked not if, but when Republicans should get on board with his proposals. "So at what point do Republicans say, okay, we agree that taxes have to go up, and here's what we'll agree to?" Romans posed to former Bush CBO director, Douglas Holtz-Eakin. According to Romans, President Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires is just fine. "So what's wrong with raising taxes for that crowd so they're...

New Hampshire would seem to be surprise proof when it comes to visits from prominent people urging support for various causes, but it was something of an eyebrow raiser a when a former policy adviser for John McCain’s presidential campaign went before business folks Tuesday to say that federal oversight is needed to control greenhouse gases.“I won’t pretend that I get standing ovations,” joked Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was a staff economist for President George H.W. Bush and served as chief economic adviser to McCain’s campaign. He spoke Tuesday to a gathering of New Hampshire businesspeople at the New Hampshire Institute...

Owing to his historically questionable economic views, including his apostasies on the Bush tax cuts of recent vintage, much has been made of Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s picks to advise him in that area. That the brilliant Steve Forbes is part of his economic team has given market-friendly types cause for optimism, and sure enough, McCain has at least talked up the idea of reducing marginal tax rates once in office. Unfortunately, recent comments from his chief economic advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, are a reminder that McCain will be very much a wild card on economic matters should he win...