Elon Musk and DOGE brought catastrophe to the U.S. government. Michael Lewis’ Blockers details just how much.

Key Points:

• Michael Lewis’ book *Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State* profiles dedicated federal civil servants who sacrifice lucrative private-sector careers to serve the government, contrasted with inexperienced, disruptive operatives from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk’s influence.
• The book highlights six federal workers labeled as “blockers” by Musk for opposing his ineffective and often illegal attempts to cut government spending, illustrating their commitment amid bureaucratic sabotage.
• Lewis uses varied narrative styles to tell these stories, including a political thriller about the U.S. Institute of Peace and a quest saga about Alexander Maranghides, a fire-protection expert whose work was undermined by budget cuts and mismanagement.
• The forced retirement of NIH head Francis Collins is depicted as a tragic loss, with Lewis revealing new details about the political machinations behind it and underscoring the reckless nature of the Trump administration’s personnel purges.
• The book exposes the damage caused by replacing skilled civil servants with loyal but incompetent political appointees, warning that this waste of expertise will harm the U.S. government’s effectiveness for years to come.