Reported DOGE Facility Closings In Oklahoma
The website for the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency - or DOGE - says it’s planning to close at least eleven facilities in Oklahoma.
DOGE’s so-called “Wall of Receipts” doesn’t say what facilities are being closed, only the town they’re in, the agency they’re affiliated with and the amount DOGE thinks it will save from terminating the lease.
Spokespeople from some agencies - like the Office of U.S. Attorneys in Muskogee and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in Tulsa - say they’re on the list of facility cuts but don’t have any additional information.
Sources say other facilities have been closed for a while or are already mostly working remotely.
But the DOGE list appears incomplete. Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear released a statement saying the Osage Indian Agency in Pawhuska is among 25 Bureau of Indian Affairs locations notified of lease terminations. But it’s not on the Wall of Receipts.
Terminations Leave Employment Lawyers ‘Thoroughly Confused’
Mass layoffs of federal workers have left Oklahoma employees on edge, and employment lawyers busy.
University of Oklahoma law professor Rick Tepker, who has taught federal employment law and constitutional law for 40 years, said he is "thoroughly confused" by the cuts being made to the federal workforce.
“I’m pretty sure that there are a lot of laws being broken, shattered, fragmented,” Tepker said.
Across the U.S., lawyers, judges and terminated employees have been pushing back against Trump administration directives to decrease the number of federal workers.
Patricia Podolec is an employment attorney in Oklahoma City. She said she’s received many calls from Oklahomans seeking help after losing their jobs.
Podolec said she’s never seen anything like this before.
Sterling Deramus, an Alabama-based lawyer who practices employment law nationwide, said the influx of terminations isn’t only unprecedented - it’s illegal.
“It's appalling… the emotional distress that they're going through. People gave up other careers to go to the federal government,” Deramus said.
He said improper firings will backfire, costing the federal government ‘billions’ in legal fees.
State Lawmakers Consider Food Labeling Changes
It would be illegal to falsely label food like-- lab-grown meat --under legislation approved in a state House oversight committee.
Republican Representative Rick West of Heavener supported the bill, dismissing concerns about the constitutionality of forbidding food product names.
“To me it's not freedom of speech. This is labeling. This is letting the produce . . . the housewife know exactly what she's buying,” West said.
Opponents of the measure think it is too broad and could also prohibit common names for products like almond milk and Impossible Burger.
Next it goes to the full House.
This story was produced by Sam Moore at The Freelancer.
Interim OSU President Jim Hess Prioritizing Student Engagement
Oklahoma State University’s interim president says he's getting accustomed to his new role.
Jim Hess started about three weeks ago, and said he is tackling key issues for the university.
“My job here is to always stay focused on what's the number one goal. What's the outcome that we seek? And the outcome we seek is what's best for the students at Oklahoma State University,” Hess said.
Student housing is one of his concerns. While OSU won’t build new dorms, he said the university is repurposing existing housing to accommodate freshmen.
Hess acknowledged potential federal budget impacts on research funding but remains optimistic, urging researchers not to worry.
Beyond administration, Hess is launching a new “Park Like A President” initiative, granting his reserved parking spot to a different student each month.
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