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A five-point test for bureaucracy — and democracy

Published: 28 Feb. 2025, 00:02 Updated: 06 Mar. 2025, 20:29

Kim Hyoung-gu

The author is the Washington bureau chief of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Summarize five key tasks you completed last week and send them via email.”
This was the directive issued by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, which reportedly reached over 2 million federal employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management. The email included a warning: failure to respond by the deadline would be considered a resignation.

Protesters demonstrate in support of federal workers outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Organizers held the protest to speak on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts. [AFP/GETTY/YONHAP]

I wondered how I would react if I had received such an email. I would likely scramble through my smartphone to recall my tasks from the past week. Security concerns — whether sharing this information was even permissible — would probably cross my mind. While White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt, often dubbed “Trump’s mouthpiece,” claimed, “It took me just 90 seconds to list my five tasks,” I suspected it would be much harder for me. And with that realization, I could somewhat grasp the collective panic that must have swept through the federal workforce.

This “five-task email report” has become the biggest controversy engulfing Washington’s bureaucracy. With an ironclad directive issued to every federal agency to prepare for mass layoffs and sweeping restructuring, federal employees have reportedly started their mornings with informal “status check-ins” to confirm who still has a job.

I, too, have often been exasperated by the sluggish inefficiency of the American bureaucracy. I once applied for a Social Security number (SSN) and was told at the service counter that I would receive it by mail within “two to four weeks.” When months passed with no sign of it, I gave up. Then, nearly a year later, the SSN finally arrived in my mailbox, eliciting nothing more than a wry smile. The painfully slow process at the Department of Motor Vehicles reinforced my belief that living in the United States required extraordinary patience.

The need for administrative reform is undeniable. The problem, however, lies in the unilateral and coercive nature of the approach. The Trump administration appears fixated on numbers — reducing head count and fiscal deficits— while neglecting the necessary processes of consultation and persuasion. Unsurprisingly, the fallout has been swift and severe. For example, as the Internal Revenue Service moves to lay off 6,000 employees, complaints are surging from taxpayers struggling with delays in filing and processing returns. Meanwhile, former federal employees abruptly cast out into the streets have fueled anti-Trump protests, where chants of “impeach the president” are growing louder.

One local university professor, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the Trump administration as “an authoritarian regime that refuses to adhere to constitutional order” and warned that “American democracy is in grave danger.” He then added, “Listing five tasks completed last week might be difficult, but listing five warning signs of a democratic crisis in the United States? That’s easy.”

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.