For a president known as an avid Fox News watcher and president, the key moment that humanized the fury over DOGE firings came from a viral personal appeal by TV personality Jesse Watters.

Watters, who had been cheering Elon Musk and his slashing cuts to government during appearances on ‘The Five’, issued an unexpected plea in late February. 

‘I finally found one person I knew who got DOGE’d, and it hit me in the heart,’ Watters said.

He told of a 20-year veteran named ‘Chris’ who he met at a shooting event who had ‘put his life on the line’ only to find his Pentagon job was in line to be eliminated.

‘Chris’ was a ‘provisional’ employee – more recent hires are being targeted because they have fewer protections. 

‘This guy’s not a DEI consultant. This guy’s not a climate consultant. This guy is a veteran,’ Watters said, urging colleagues to be ‘less’ callous’ and that veterans should get ‘priority.’

It was a viral moment that Trump watched, even asking advisers if it was resonating, the Atlantic reported.

The issue of the impact of Musk’s DOGE cuts on veterans would soon snowball.

Last week, the Associated Press (an outlet still barred from traveling with Trump) reported that the Veterans Affairs Administration was planning 80,000 cuts – or about 17 percent of the workforce.

Fox News host Jesse Watters pleaded for compassion after his Veteran friend was told he would get ‘DOGE’d’ from his job at the Pentagon

Veterans – a group that Trump has heralded and are usually well protected by Congress – have also been taking a disproportionate hit by government-wide job cuts.

Nearly a third of federal workers are veterans, based on hiring preferences dating to to World War II.

‘We love our veterans. We’re going to take good care of them,’ Trump said this month when asked about the impact of the cuts on vets.

But the issue soon contributed to the first successful pushback against DOGE. 

Adding to the pressure were a series of town halls where constituents voiced their frustration about the cuts to Republican lawmakers.

At one, in a conservative California district, a House lawmaker got branded a ‘fascist’ while defending Musk’s cuts at a ‘community coffee’ event.

Musk, the world’s richest man who wielded a chainsaw and delighted the crowd at the conservative conference CPAC this year, was showing signs of becoming a potential political liability. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged his members to avoid holding town halls.

‘They’re professional protesters. So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?’ he said.

President Trump watched the viral moment of Watters’ plea for his friend

Musk wielded a chain saw at CPAC as he vowed more job cuts. He has been championing efforts to target ‘waste and fraud,’ but a third of federal workers are veterans

But word of those events, which became a media focus, soon reached Trump’s advisers.

Several agency leaders, including the heads of the Pentagon, the FBI, pushed back against Musk’s demand that two  million federal employees write ‘five things you did last week’ email demand during the first iteration.

Then a cabinet meeting last Thursday brought an angry clash between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

Trump was forced to deny a rift after a New York Times report.

‘Elon and Marco have a great relationship. any statement other than that is fake news!!!’ he wrote. 

Trump’s public post, on his Truth Social site, was the first indication that he had moved – now explicitly giving his cabinet secretaries authority over cuts in their agencies.  

‘DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing,’ Trump wrote.

‘As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the “scalpel” rather than the “hatchet.”’

But Trump remained upbeat.

‘The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level,’ he said.

The administration has not said how many jobs have been eliminated in total.