Trump and Musk are cleaning up toxic federal agencies, and it’s long overdue | Opinion
Cleaning house
Kudos to President Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk for starting the environmental clean up of toxic agencies and departments like USAID, FEMA and the Department of Education, while eliminating corruption and DEI wherever it exists. Hard working and freedom loving Americans expect nothing less of our government.
For too long, we have known that too many of our agencies were a safe haven for incompetence, where advancement or tenure was a not a function of work ethic, excellence in performance and innovation, but rather subscribed to a liberal ideology which puts gender, racial and political considerations above merit.
After 12 years of toxic policies by former Presidents Obama and Biden, which led to the corrupt underpinning of many of our institutions, the time has come to carry out selective demolition. Clean the structure of these agencies and rebuild with a new mind-set in which ideology, race or gender don’t matter, just how good you really are in what you do.
Willy A. Bermello,
Coral Gables
Winners’ circle
The 2025 Miami Marathon & Half Marathon was an outstanding success. Every year, our family cheers on the runners as they soldier-on in front of our home. Last year, our youngest son and I ran the half marathon and witnessed firsthand the exceptional organization of this event.
The tireless efforts of Frankie Ruiz and his professional team, the energetic volunteers, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, along with effective traffic management by the Miami, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade Police Departments, ensured a smooth and safe experience for all.
Let’s also recognize Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins for her inspiring words, high-fives at the starting line and unwavering support of community events that promote health and unity. Her dedication to enhancing our quality of life has fostered a vibrant and connected Miami.
Events like this truly bring out the best of Greater Miami and Beaches — uniting residents and visitors in promoting health and contributing to our local hotels, restaurants and businesses.
Jorge Luis Lopez,
Coconut Grove
Insane choice
No sane person would want Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to be in charge of an entire country’s health system. He espouses many wild theories about vaccines. Even his own family has not only refused to support him but pretty much said he is unsuitable for such an important position.
That Republicans were afraid to vote “No” while knowing in their heart of hearts he is not qualified is disgusting. If they defy President Trump, however, he will make sure they lose their cushy Senate seat. A prime example of voting party over country. They should be ashamed. Welcome to the dictatorship.
George Lipp,
Cooper City
Meet the zampolit
A Trump executive order installs a DOGE Team Lead at each federal agency and gives that person oversight over hiring decisions.
Kind of like the Communist Party bosses at each Soviet workplace who ensured political correctness.
Ted Burg,
Pembroke Pines
Five-alarm fire
Nero didn’t fiddle while Rome burned, but he may have played the lyre and recited poetry. Fiddling is a metaphor for a leader who ignores or mismanages a crisis. While the counterfeit president, Elon Musk, is burning down the government, the elected president is igniting bonfires.
With his trusty fat Sharpies, Donald Trump obsessively signs executive orders intended to destroy 238 years of our established Republic. Rather than poetry, Trump is reciting newly imagined versions of the U.S. Constitution, not lawfully amended by a co-equal Congress, while sidelining the judicial branch. The founding fathers would call this conduct “scorched earth.”
The hose brigade — Republicans in Congress responsible for fire containment — have disregarded the sparks, drowning their heads in proverbial water buckets. Florida’s U.S. Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody and U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar, have buried their noses in the ashes of our Constitution, allowing an unelected foreigner to usurp their responsibilities to protect the citizens who elected them.
Improvements to our system can be made without fanning the flames of destruction. Contact your representatives and tell them to do their job to reign in arsonist Musk and douse the pyromaniac tendencies of Trump.
Johnnie McDonald,
Coconut Grove
Through the lens
Congratulations to Miami Herald photographer Carl Juste and the Herald for the stunning front page portraits of Emmanuel George and Dan Burden in the Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 editions. They are portraits, in delicate, well-worn colors; nothing could be further from the old black and white.
Grab them right now, before they get lost in recycling: they belong on your wall, or at least, the fridge.
Mary Motes,
Redland
Drivers endangered
Despite the dramatically increasing traffic in Miami, there is almost a complete lack of traffic law enforcement. Drivers are double parking on lanes in Brickell Avenue at rush hour, running red lights with abandon, going over the speed limits, passing on the wrong side and much more. They think they can do whatever they want with no penalty.
I hope Miami-Dade’s new sheriff, or someone, will do something about this. The Miami Herald should write an editorial on this. It would be interesting to know if accidents have increased, as reported to auto insurance companies. That would help support my claim.
Karen Escalera,
Miami
Former hero
As we watch the dismantling of USAID take place before our eyes, we’re also witnessing an about face by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former champion for U.S. foreign assistance. As Sen. Rubio, he was a staunch supporter of access to education for the world’s youth. In the 118th Congress, he was the lead Republican sponsor of the recently reauthorized READ Act, which has played a pivotal role in ensuring that access to basic education is a priority in U.S. foreign assistance efforts.
Rubio understood then that education is crucial to bettering livelihoods and improving economic stability in developing countries, but that it also helps keep the U.S. safer, stronger and more prosperous. We must remind him of this as he navigates his new role.
America’s reputation, committed USAID civil servants and children who will inevitably miss out on school, cannot be casualties of a misinformed policy.
Giulia McPherson,
executive director,
Global Campaign for Education-US,
Bethesda, MD
After DeSantis
Thrilled to hear that our caring and dedicated Gov. Ron DeSantis is supportive of his wife Casey, picking up the baton and running for governor in 2026. He’s probably thinking about what he will do after his own term ends. If she took over the job, he would immediately have purpose — a stay-at-home dad.
What’s more important than taking care of your three young children?
It would be a great, humbling and instructive learning experience for him. Maybe he will learn how to be more compassionate and understanding of others, something he unfortunately didn’t have while governor.
Marsha Broad,
Miami
Disadvantaged
On Feb. 8, I learned quite by chance that my Medicare Advantage plan had been canceled as of Jan. 31. I have been in free fall ever since. I called Medicare to ask what happened and why.
Apparently, the chaos they were dealing with — thousands of policies being canceled with no prior notification required — concerns the Trump administration’s policies on government spending (i.e., our non-elected, Trump-appointed, Elon Musk).
The advocate I spoke with said they were at an equal disadvantage because they didn’t even know what kinds of policies might be made available to elderly people, like me, who suddenly find themselves without coverage. I am 74 and in an assisted living facility. Multiply my dilemma by thousands of my fellow elderly Floridians.
Why am I not seeing coverage in the media? Where is the hue and cry? Who can help me and others navigate this sudden quagmire? Where are our representatives looking out for their constituents?
Those responsible must be held accountable.
Eric Brown,
Dania Beach