What's the End Game? We Talk Massive Remaking of HHS with Gov't Reformer Jennifer Pahlka

Health and Human Services chief RFK Jr. unleashed much-anticipated cuts this week, bringing the total to 20,000 jobs slashed from our nation’s premier health institution. This follows cuts in money for state public health agencies and funding freezes for research centers tackling everything from cancer to veterans' health. Secretary Kennedy says this is to streamline government agencies' practices which he says will ultimately make America healthy again. 

For too long, both parties ran the show without challenging the status quo. Meanwhile, trust in public health on behalf of a public desperate for action was plummeting. How much did that lack of change pave the way for the radical shift we’re seeing now?

To help make sense of it all, we speak with Jennifer Pahlka—author, technologist, and government reformer. A pioneer in bringing tech-driven innovation to government long before DOGE was a glint in Elon Musk’s eye, Pahlka has a lot to say about government efficiency, streamlining bureaucracy, and where these cuts might be leading us.

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:

Jennifer Pahlka, author Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age, and How We Can Do Better; former U.S. deputy chief technology officer under President Barack Obama where she helped set up the U.S. Digital Service.

Sources:

Fortune on Pahlka and DOGE cuts

https://fortune.com/2025/03/05/doge-co-founder-digital-service-jennifer-pahlka-code-for-america

Atlantic 

https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2025/01/elon-musk-doge-government-efficiency/681366/

Pahlka op-ed NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/opinion/democrats-elon-musk-doge.html

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