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Joshua Smith

@smithmachine.bsky.social
3.2K followers 229 following 303 posts

Policy Director, @budget.senate.gov / @merkley.senate.gov

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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 20h
Man, Jack Smith missed a great game. Steph hung 60!
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 21h
GAO: **11 pages of legal reasoning as to what changed in the law since the '70s leading it to reverse itself** Vought: **Snarky tweet**
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"DOGE: Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected at Multiple Agencies." Oh.
gao.gov
U.S. GAO - DOGE: Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected at Multiple Agencies
An executive order required federal agencies to establish Department of Government Efficiency teams to implement the administration's goals. We...
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I think it's bad when the President breaks the law.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
via Politico: "OUT AND ABOUT — Town & Country magazine celebrated its 180th anniversary last night at Library Bar inside Ned’s Club. Guests enjoyed passed hors d’oeuvres by the chef Joshua Smith — including steak tartare croutons, lobster rolls and limoncello cheesecake."
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Just realized that the #DCBikeRide is scheduled for Rosh Hashannah morning. Really? In the year 5787 we're still forgetting that this could be a conflict?? 🚲😢
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Remember DOGE? Hahaha 🤦‍♂️
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
My favorite anecdote in the GAO report: DOGE claimed $28 billion in savings from narrowing an Air Force contract, but then the Air Force just waited a few months and awarded a $27.4 billion no-bid contract to the same contractor to perform the same work that had been "descoped."
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Reposted by Joshua Smith
Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Absolutely brutal takedown. "For grants, DOGE did not provide sufficient information to verify the method used to calculate 96 percent of DOGE-reported savings. Similarly, the Wall of Receipts does not include an explanation of how the savings from terminated leases were calculated."
What GAO Found
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began posting its estimated savings on a web page known as the Wall of Receipts on February 17, 2025. As of July 7, 2026, the Wall of Receipts reported savings of $110 billion across contracts, grants, and leases, but some savings estimates are incorrect or lack supporting evidence. While DOGE provided some information about estimated savings, several issues limit the transparency and reliability of these reported savings.

DOGE was not transparent regarding methodologies used to calculate savings. Specifically, DOGE did not use its stated methodology to calculate the majority of savings associated with the contracts reported as terminated. For grants, DOGE did not provide sufficient information to verify the method used to calculate 96 percent of DOGE-reported savings. Similarly, the Wall of Receipts does not include an explanation of how the savings from terminated leases were calculated.
The Wall of Receipts includes leases identified for termination before DOGE was established. Specifically,108 of the 264 leases identified for termination on the Wall of Receipts, about $15.3 million of the total $53.5 million in savings, were already in process for termination when DOGE was established.
GAO’s review of selected contracts identified potential cost savings, but the basis for some reported savings is unknown. For example, DOGE reported $1.7 billion in savings on the Department of Defense’s Defense Health Agency contract for IT services at more than 700 military treatment facilities worldwide. While DOGE initially identified the contract for termination, in the end, no action was taken to terminate the contract, or to reduce scope, value, or funding. Thus, no savings were achieved.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The Government Accountability Office, the actual professionals trying to root our government waste, is out with a 52-page report cataloging methodological errors and data limitations with DOGE's "Wall of Receipts." (I bet this was fun for them to write.)
gao.gov
U.S. GAO - DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease Terminations
The President established the Department of Government Efficiency to transform federal spending. DOGE instructed agencies to review federal contracts...
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Another $1.4 billion for armed federal troops to patrol out city and yet they've had "no measurable effect on violent crime."
niskanencenter.org
Washington, D.C.’s crime decline and its lessons for American policing - Niskanen Center
Washington, D.C., offers a rare opportunity to study how police departments throughout the country might, and in fact must, do more with less.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Reporting for duty 🫡
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Fun fact! The “SAVE” part of the SAVE America Act stands for “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility,” so the bill is called the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility America Act.”
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Reposted by Joshua Smith
Senate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
NEW: @senatebudget.bsky.social analysis finds Trump's ICE and CBP are flush with more than $152 BILLION after the passage of Republicans' second partisan funding bill. All while American families struggle just to get by with no help from Trump. www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
budget.senate.gov
ICE, CBP Now Sitting on $152 Billion After Republican Funding Bills | U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
The Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
500,000 (!!!!) formal comments to this rule have been submitted to the Federal Register. Insane. (And well deserved.)
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
👎 I, for one, would not like the sun to rise at *8:27 a.m.* in the dead of winter here in DC.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Somone is taking the France loss hard. (Don't worry, Senator! Spain and England are still in it!)
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
“The proposal in question comes, not surprisingly, out of the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025.”
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
“The center said in its statement that it had confirmed with the Office of Management and Budget that, as an independent entity, it was not bound by federal contracting regulations.” Yeah man I checked with the arsonist and he said it’s cool to light ‘er up
nytimes.com
Whistle-Blowers Accuse Kennedy Center of Contracting Flaws Under Trump
Documents submitted to Congress detailed concerns about competitive bidding processes and a White House order to tear up new bathroom tile because of its color.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Texted this on the group chat literally two days ago. Ah well nevertheless
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Et tu, official MLB app? Somewhere Pete Rose is laughing his ass off
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Fancy Qatari jet just buzzed the neighborhood
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
There are fences *everywhere* blocking movement and they all say "FREEDOM"
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Went down to the Great American State Fair. My personal highlight might have been this Madison cosplayer arguing before literally ones of people that we’re a republic and not a democracy.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
*Maxes Muncy
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Great op-ed in the Times today about serendipitous scientific discoveries. I think about this every time a certain Senator pretends we could balance the budget if only we would stop funding experiments where we give quails cocaine.
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
And his company is called “Greenwater Services”?!?? Stop it. This is too much.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
“Note: To activate the account, you enter willingly into an agreement with Robinhood Securities, LLC, which serves as the trustee for Trump Accounts.” 🇺🇸
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
He really is the luckiest man to have ever lived
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I added it up for all the other sickos out there: The Senate has endured 2 days, 18 hours, and 12 minutes of vote-a-rama this Congress.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Idly reminiscing about this dumb take from one Mr. Nick Bilton.
nytimes.com
Fare Thee Well, My Pen (Published 2014)
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Now the Post is spinning off the weather guys? What are we doing here.
washingtonpost.com
A new chapter for the Capital Weather Gang
CWG is returning to its independent roots as Capital Weather, at capitalweather.com.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
IYKYK
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
The WSJ sent a push notification on this, I guess sending subscribers to their fainting couches? Oh no not my passive income being taxed, though at rates much lower than earned income!
wsj.com
You Won the Battle on Investment Fees. You’re Losing the War Against Taxes.
New research shows that federal taxes eat up more than a third of investors’ wealth over time.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
This is the dumbest timeline
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I find it strange the things that backbench members of Congress do to humiliate themselves in order to win re-election when it seems that former members are having a much better time.
tmz.com
Rep. Thomas Massie Vacationing with Marjorie Taylor Greene in Costa Rica
Welcome to President Trump's worst nightmare ... Rep. Thomas Massie shaking off his primary defeat by letting loose in the sand with fellow Trump-nemesis -- one Marjorie Taylor Greene.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This is an excellent column about how the Senate has evolved in the last ~ decade.
nytimes.com
G.O.P. Twists a Budget Weapon to Beat a Democratic Filibuster
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Reposted by Joshua Smith
Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
New from @senatebudget.bsky.social : as of the end of April, ICE and CBP still have $100 billion left over and completely unused from the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Congressional Republicans are in the midst of trying to provide another $69 billion to ICE and CBP despite this.
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Senate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
🚨🚨NEW DATA from @SenateBudget: Republicans are moving to give ICE and Border Patrol $70 BILLION, but the agencies are already sitting on $100 BILLION. All while families are struggling to afford the basics. www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...
budget.senate.gov
As Senate Republicans Move to Give ICE, CBP $70 Billion, Agencies Are Sitting on $100 Billion from Previous Reconciliation Bill | U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
The Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I feel like someone once got a lot of heat for saying "Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal," but I suppose that train has sailed.
politico.com
Justice Department expands Trump settlement to cover his tax audits
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a broadly worded addendum that appears to end the president’s long-running disputes with the IRS.
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Reposted by Joshua Smith
Senate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
🚨🚨HUGE UPDATE: Senate Democrats forced Republicans to rewrite parts of their ICE and Border Patrol funding bill to add critical protections for children in DHS custody. It’s a win for the rule of law as Democrats continue fighting every provision in this harmful legislation.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Team Waste, Fraud, and Abuse strikes again
nytimes.com
Trump’s Push to Keep Coal Plants Open Is Costing Hundreds of Millions
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
[absolute cinema]
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
It sucks how we’ll all have to live with his shitty decisions well after he’s gone. “Hains Point, the tip of the peninsula popular with early-morning birdwatchers and weekend barbecuers, would be incorporated into the new course and seemingly inaccessible to anyone not playing golf.”
washingtonpost.com
Those who love this D.C. park fear Trump’s golf proposal will push them out
A high-end course that the president’s top fundraiser has proposed for East Potomac Park could sharply limit access for birding, fishing and cycling.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
There is no greater indignity than when your cell phone carrier sneakily changes its pricing structure, raises your rates, hopes you don't notice, and then forces you to argue with a chatbot to switch plans just to get back to what you already had but at the old rate. Enshittification personified.
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
This is the most relatable thing a professional athlete has done since LeBron missed time with sciatica pain
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Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
AI is good now 🤖
langui.sh
Ten Years of Frinkiac
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