Fact Check: Did Jesse Watters Turn Against DOGE? Absolutely Not

Fox News host Jesse Watters received some blowback after offering a critique of the work of the Department of Government Efficiency Wednesday.

Watters has been a strong supporter of the Elon Musk-led DOGE efforts to downsize government and root out waste and fraud.

Last week, he touted DOGE’s work weeding out the bloated federal government.

However, on Wednesday’s “The Five,” Watters highlighted the case of Chris, a former elite warfighter he knows.

He “killed a lot of bad guys. Put his life on the line,” Watters recounted. “Now he punched out after 20 years and working for the Pentagon.”

“He’s only been there a few months, so he’s probationary. And he just found out he’s probably going to get laid off. He’s going to get DOGE’d. And he texted me and he said, ‘Jesse, this isn’t good. I’m upset. This is really sad,” the Fox host continued.

“This guy’s not a DEI consultant. This guy’s not a climate consultant. You know, this guy is a veteran. So when you’re talking about DOGEing people, veterans should get priority, because if you’re going to go out there and kill enemies and put your life on the line for this country, you shouldn’t be in the same category as people who are doing DEI,” Watters said.

We can’t let people like Chris get @DOGE‘d. pic.twitter.com/oz3maFBE1l

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) February 20, 2025

Watters was making the argument that combat veterans should get a different consideration than your average federal government employees still in their probationary period.

First, it should be noted the reason that DOGE is firing federal workers still in their probationary period — which can be up to a year or longer, depending on the agency — is once employees go beyond that period, it is significantly more difficult to let them go.

The Associated Press reported as of March 2024, 220,000 workers were in the probationary category of the total 2.4 million civilian employees of the government.

Chris, being in the probationary period, is like hundreds of thousands of others facing a layoff. He retired from the military after 20 years of service, so he’s likely receiving roughly half of his active duty pay now.

It’s common for military retirees, who are often in their early 40s, to “double-dip” and use their expertise to go work for the federal government. They then receive a second paycheck each month. There’s nothing unethical about it, and it likely is good for the country’s defense, but it’s obviously not guaranteed.

Chris may be a casualty in the DOGE downsize, and Watters obviously thinks it’s not fair.

The Fox Host received some blowback from liberal media outlets for his apparent flip on DOGE when it impacted someone he knows.

So on Thursday night, Watters dedicated a long segment to his “Primetime” show celebrating its work.

Watters noted DOGE is looking into waste, fraud, and abuse regarding Ukraine, the IRS, and the Pentagon.

Watters particularly lambasted the $2 billion the Biden administration granted to former Georgia state lawmaker Stacey Abrams for her start-up climate non-profit.

Elon and the brainiacs have been given unfettered access to the government’s back office. @DOGE is sniffing around Ukraine, Fort Knox, the IRS, and the Pentagon. Even @staceyabrams just got DOGE’d.

Everywhere you look in Washington, dirty deals litter the streets. @elonmusk’s… pic.twitter.com/YzfFnBLmtn

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) February 21, 2025

He saw it as a classic example of liberal grift. “We can’t find any evidence that this group did anything for the climate,” Watters said.

“This is how the game works. Democrats launch 501(c)(3)s. Their friends in DC send them our money, and then they hire their cousins, pay all themselves fat salaries, and use the money to travel — first class, of course — to climate summits,” he explained.

“Everywhere you look in Washington are deals like this,” Watters contended.

So Watters is clearly on board with the work of DOGE rooting out waste and corruption, but he also pointed out Thursday night that federal employee firings are needed too.

“Americans are getting laid off all the time in the private sector. Mass layoffs. The Washington Post just laid off 4 percent of its workforce. Are fired writers being interviewed on ‘60 Minutes’? No,” he said.

“The left thinks government workers are more important than workers in the private sector. They believe government workers do more for the country. And the country couldn’t survive without them,” Watters added.

He concluded by predicting the country will do just fine getting rid of some of its bloated bureaucracy.

Has Watters turned on the work of DOGE? Absolutely not.

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