DOGE descends on FDIC

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created in the wake of the Great Depression to make sure that your money in the bank couldn’t suddenly disappear. Part of the 1933 Banking Act, its purpose was to restore public trust in banks after the stock market crashed and threw millions into poverty by insuring commercial and personal bank accounts up to $250,000.

It’s a good and important federal government agency, and as The Handbasket was first to report Wednesday evening, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) planned to descend upon its headquarters.

By Thursday morning I received confirmation that three members of DOGE had entered the FDIC building on 17th Street NW, right across from the White House. The three people have been identified by FDIC staffers in the building as Brooks Morgan, Adam Ramada and Anthony Armstrong—all confirmed members of DOGE

Early Thursday afternoon all FDIC employees received an email confirmed that DOGE was indeed establishing a presence there. Here’s the text of the email shared with me:

The idea that Trump is going after the FDIC isn’t new: An executive order he issued in early February was aimed at giving the president more power over independent regulatory agencies (including the FDIC.)

It’s also a topic that came up in the Project 2025 manual, though not as explicitly as some have claimed. Per the fact-checking site Snopes, “Project 2025 does not explicitly propose eliminating the FDIC; rather, the document suggests the corporation merge with other federal financial agencies. A 2017 report by The Heritage Foundation, which put forward the Project 2025 initiative, did suggest that, eventually, "government-provided deposit insurance should be phased out fully."

This is all to say that while it’s appalling DOGE has invaded the FDIC, it’s not necessarily surprising. 

But still, their entrance into the FDIC is concerning for reasons somewhat separate from the other agencies already in their clutches. It’s an independent agency not subject to direct control by the president, and it is not subject to congressional appropriations. FDIC is funded by “assessments” which are paid for by banks that participate in the insurance program. 

“FDIC staff have been on notice for months that probationary employees are at risk of losing their jobs just like at every other agency DOGE has destroyed,” Jordan Haedtler, a former House Financial Services Committee staffer who now consults on state policy, told me. “The FDIC is a prudential regulator, meaning for some banks it is the primary regulator enforcing capital requirements and other rules that promote financial stability. The FDIC is an independent agency that isn’t even funded through Congressional appropriations. It is the agency that makes sure that you don’t lose all your money if your bank fails. It’s astounding that DOGE would want to weaken its capacity to fulfill that important responsibility.”

Haedtler underlined the fact that getting rid of these federal protections is not even a mainstream position in right wing circles, and is a more extreme tactic that it appears the Trump administration is pursuing.

As of now it’s unclear what DOGE plans to do at FDIC and the impact it will have on regular people. But after a week of economic upheaval thanks to Trump’s market manipulation, it’s understandably a scary piece of news. I’ll update as I learn more.