What do you think?
Rate this book
Inside DOGE
The untold story of What really happened when outsiders took on Washington.
Told by Tyler Hassen, the Houston business executive who became Acting Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Interior, this book reveals the first insider account of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Part memoir, part management autopsy, this is a forensic look at what happens when builders confront Washington’s most entrenched bureaucracy.
Hassen takes readers behind closed doors—from late-night West Wing meetings to high-stakes confrontations with senators. From the California water crisis that ignited a media firestorm to a $830 million contract request for surveys so basic a high schooler could have designed them.
This is a revelation about Washington’s broken incentives and the $39 trillion reality that drains the American future. Rather than just draining the swamp, Hassen calls for “flooding” it with talent.
Hassen’s reflections are a blueprint for the restoration of the American institution.
Told by Tyler Hassen, the Houston business executive who became Acting Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Interior, this book reveals the first insider account of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Part memoir, part management autopsy, this is a forensic look at what happens when builders confront Washington’s most entrenched bureaucracy.
Hassen takes readers behind closed doors—from late-night West Wing meetings to high-stakes confrontations with senators. From the California water crisis that ignited a media firestorm to a $830 million contract request for surveys so basic a high schooler could have designed them.
This is a revelation about Washington’s broken incentives and the $39 trillion reality that drains the American future. Rather than just draining the swamp, Hassen calls for “flooding” it with talent.
Hassen’s reflections are a blueprint for the restoration of the American institution.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
Published September 22, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 27, 2026
Currently reading this and I don't understand why Tyler Hassen wrote it or why anyone published it. It reads like a resume more than a memoir or an investigation. I don't think S&S actually expects anyone to open it - I think they assume right-wingers will just buy it to continue supporting their sick MAGA cult. But that's not going to happen because no one knows who Tyler Hassen is and they're too stupid to understand the connection.
October 1, 2026
0/5: worthless.
This review is written with all due respect to the author.
Tyler Hassen is a waste of time. He's a legendary, iconic waste of time, a hero to wastes of time everywhere. Between January and November 2025, he not only wasted his own time, but scratched and clawed and worked his way up to the top of the US Department of the Interior to waste the time of tens of thousands of people around this great country. Every moment a park ranger couldn't answer your question at a visitor center because she had to answer some garbage question about ordering pens for junior rangers, or send a summary of what she did that week to an email black hole, or stress over a potential reorg that never actually happened, or learned that 25% of her coworkers are now gone, that was Tyler's handiwork. He wasted his own time, and hers, and yours, a succubus-of-hours digging its damp, discolored teeth into the flesh that is your day, your life, and therefore your soul.
He also has a terrible handshake. With all due respect.
Hassen's time-wasting, life-destroying garbage act continues on with this book. This book is so useless that the paper is barely kindling-grade. There is an entire genre of generic, banal "I was in the ROOM where IT HAPPENED" political memoir tomes ghostwritten by depressed MFA holders who wished they were unemployed, and this is somehow worse, because the only time Tyler Hassen was in a room where something happened was during bullshit conversations with a ketamine addict which ran til 2am. Do you know why they ran til 2am, Tyler? Because you were speaking with a ketamine addict. You'll never get those doofuses to clam it.
Respectfully.
Other DOGE people at least have interesting stories related to indirectly killing people in developing countries, stealing Social Security numbers, and being called Balls. Those would all be entertaining tales, even when written by room temperature IQ psychopaths. Tyler Hassen, on the other hand, has no story. There is no content here. He is the 2nd most boring dogeboy, slightly behind some techie dingus named Bryton. This book is a walking LinkedIn profile writing first-drafty, sloppy sentences showing how smart he was and how hard of a worker he was and how he was DISRUPTING and MAKING A DIFFERENCE with NO REGRETS in a world where those words deserve an eyeroll and a wanking motion. The man writes that he was excited about joining the DOI because he had little experience with the agency, then crows about how bad a contract is due to a misspelling. Wow, you really caught a severe government problem with those fresh eyes, brother. Thanks for working 14 hour days to find that big scoop. Really showin' up the deep state.
Again, with all due respect, any time spent on, with, or within five degrees of separation from Tyler Hassen is a terrible mistake. This includes his time with DOI, this book, my review of this book, and you reading my review of this book. May God have mercy on anybody who accidentally sees this future pulp literary equivalent of Charbydis at a bookstore somewhere in the DMV who shelved it as a favor to [place the name of the worst House representative you know here].
This review is written with all due respect to the author.
Tyler Hassen is a waste of time. He's a legendary, iconic waste of time, a hero to wastes of time everywhere. Between January and November 2025, he not only wasted his own time, but scratched and clawed and worked his way up to the top of the US Department of the Interior to waste the time of tens of thousands of people around this great country. Every moment a park ranger couldn't answer your question at a visitor center because she had to answer some garbage question about ordering pens for junior rangers, or send a summary of what she did that week to an email black hole, or stress over a potential reorg that never actually happened, or learned that 25% of her coworkers are now gone, that was Tyler's handiwork. He wasted his own time, and hers, and yours, a succubus-of-hours digging its damp, discolored teeth into the flesh that is your day, your life, and therefore your soul.
He also has a terrible handshake. With all due respect.
Hassen's time-wasting, life-destroying garbage act continues on with this book. This book is so useless that the paper is barely kindling-grade. There is an entire genre of generic, banal "I was in the ROOM where IT HAPPENED" political memoir tomes ghostwritten by depressed MFA holders who wished they were unemployed, and this is somehow worse, because the only time Tyler Hassen was in a room where something happened was during bullshit conversations with a ketamine addict which ran til 2am. Do you know why they ran til 2am, Tyler? Because you were speaking with a ketamine addict. You'll never get those doofuses to clam it.
Respectfully.
Other DOGE people at least have interesting stories related to indirectly killing people in developing countries, stealing Social Security numbers, and being called Balls. Those would all be entertaining tales, even when written by room temperature IQ psychopaths. Tyler Hassen, on the other hand, has no story. There is no content here. He is the 2nd most boring dogeboy, slightly behind some techie dingus named Bryton. This book is a walking LinkedIn profile writing first-drafty, sloppy sentences showing how smart he was and how hard of a worker he was and how he was DISRUPTING and MAKING A DIFFERENCE with NO REGRETS in a world where those words deserve an eyeroll and a wanking motion. The man writes that he was excited about joining the DOI because he had little experience with the agency, then crows about how bad a contract is due to a misspelling. Wow, you really caught a severe government problem with those fresh eyes, brother. Thanks for working 14 hour days to find that big scoop. Really showin' up the deep state.
Again, with all due respect, any time spent on, with, or within five degrees of separation from Tyler Hassen is a terrible mistake. This includes his time with DOI, this book, my review of this book, and you reading my review of this book. May God have mercy on anybody who accidentally sees this future pulp literary equivalent of Charbydis at a bookstore somewhere in the DMV who shelved it as a favor to [place the name of the worst House representative you know here].
October 1, 2026
The master of limp handshakes
October 5, 2026
First, I read the book. Second, I will not use this forum to launch a personal attack on the author or subject you to lamentations about DOGE, its mission, or its execution. I do not know the author. Last, for full disclosure I spent 28 years in service to our Federal Government.
5 stars for the book. Why? Hassen delivers a concise, easily readable book that respects your time. I felt like I have an understanding of what it was like in the short DOGE era. Every one of the individuals who disrupted their lives and careers to support this effort are true American Heroes. What do they receive for this service & sacrifice? Harassment. Slander. Intimidation. Misrepresentation. Hate. That is were you will find the real shame. Lower your masks, breathe deep, and read the book before you vomit your hate.
90% of Americans should agree with the mission of DOGE. This will be an important book when, in the future, austerity becomes mandatory, not just an experiment.
5 stars for the book. Why? Hassen delivers a concise, easily readable book that respects your time. I felt like I have an understanding of what it was like in the short DOGE era. Every one of the individuals who disrupted their lives and careers to support this effort are true American Heroes. What do they receive for this service & sacrifice? Harassment. Slander. Intimidation. Misrepresentation. Hate. That is were you will find the real shame. Lower your masks, breathe deep, and read the book before you vomit your hate.
90% of Americans should agree with the mission of DOGE. This will be an important book when, in the future, austerity becomes mandatory, not just an experiment.
October 14, 2026
Dunning-Kruger may not be provable in the realm of stats but this author is certainly afflicted. The book reads like an undergraduate’s memoir of a first internship rather than an experienced manager who fought his way up the corporate ladder. Honestly, I don’t even know what this author was doing before to get him into DOGE. He gives an example of his business savvy saying he started a business in Dubai and only flew with two suitcases. Maybe it is just me, but I have a hard time imagining how to spin that on the skills section of my resume.
Then there is the author’s time in government. During the tutorial phase of DOGE he had to Google what the Commerce Department does. When Howard Lutnick boots them he chooses Interior more as an exotic locale to explore than passion for public land management. The author is clueless about AI and then barely a couple of months into DOGE he’s suggesting gutting whole admin sectors to be replaced with it. For all his crying over the national debt he never weighs the amount of money it would take to implement and run these high tech solutions. No cost breakdown of how much energy or tokens running the government this way would cost vs. the cost of an already trained employee. There’s barely any forethought on how these changes will ripple all the way into how everyday people access the land, wildlife, and water.
This brings me to the memoir portion of the book, surprisingly the author gives little information about himself and only in bits and pieces. His father was an “energy investment banker”, he went to boarding school, Princeton, and later a job at Morgan Stanley Global Headquarters in Times Square. Coupled with only the vague descriptions of his business ventures I think he’s coasted through life, never having to account for his actions. The author gets flustered by FOIA requests, letters from Senators, and legally compelled depositions, where it reads to me like he ignored some. Based on his own writing he only serves one group of people, those in, or above his socioeconomic status. This person who received no votes and no confirmation by the Senate made decisions for all taxpayers, never thinking for an instant he would have to explain his actions. It’s all so gross.
Then there is the author’s time in government. During the tutorial phase of DOGE he had to Google what the Commerce Department does. When Howard Lutnick boots them he chooses Interior more as an exotic locale to explore than passion for public land management. The author is clueless about AI and then barely a couple of months into DOGE he’s suggesting gutting whole admin sectors to be replaced with it. For all his crying over the national debt he never weighs the amount of money it would take to implement and run these high tech solutions. No cost breakdown of how much energy or tokens running the government this way would cost vs. the cost of an already trained employee. There’s barely any forethought on how these changes will ripple all the way into how everyday people access the land, wildlife, and water.
This brings me to the memoir portion of the book, surprisingly the author gives little information about himself and only in bits and pieces. His father was an “energy investment banker”, he went to boarding school, Princeton, and later a job at Morgan Stanley Global Headquarters in Times Square. Coupled with only the vague descriptions of his business ventures I think he’s coasted through life, never having to account for his actions. The author gets flustered by FOIA requests, letters from Senators, and legally compelled depositions, where it reads to me like he ignored some. Based on his own writing he only serves one group of people, those in, or above his socioeconomic status. This person who received no votes and no confirmation by the Senate made decisions for all taxpayers, never thinking for an instant he would have to explain his actions. It’s all so gross.
October 20, 2026
Title: An Eye-Opening Read That Hit Close to Home — A+
★★★★★ 5 Stars
Inside DOGE was an outstanding read from start to finish. Having lived in Northern California and spent considerable time on the Delta, along with my years serving in the United States Marine Corps, I found myself personally connecting with so much of what was discussed in this book.
Some of the experiences and observations brought back memories of things I witnessed firsthand, particularly during my time in the military. It was fascinating, frustrating, and at times unbelievable to see how many of these issues have persisted over the years.
As a Marine Corps veteran and now a business owner, I have a very different appreciation for accountability, efficiency, and how taxpayer dollars are spent. This book reinforced many of the concerns I've carried for decades.
I appreciated the author's willingness to share what he witnessed and bring attention to issues that deserve far more public discussion.
A+! A compelling, eye-opening book that I highly recommend.
★★★★★ 5 Stars
Inside DOGE was an outstanding read from start to finish. Having lived in Northern California and spent considerable time on the Delta, along with my years serving in the United States Marine Corps, I found myself personally connecting with so much of what was discussed in this book.
Some of the experiences and observations brought back memories of things I witnessed firsthand, particularly during my time in the military. It was fascinating, frustrating, and at times unbelievable to see how many of these issues have persisted over the years.
As a Marine Corps veteran and now a business owner, I have a very different appreciation for accountability, efficiency, and how taxpayer dollars are spent. This book reinforced many of the concerns I've carried for decades.
I appreciated the author's willingness to share what he witnessed and bring attention to issues that deserve far more public discussion.
A+! A compelling, eye-opening book that I highly recommend.
October 8, 2026
Fascinating story of one man in the middle of a battle of the day.
I suspect the one star reviewers were the folks who got axed.
Highly recommended reading.
I suspect the one star reviewers were the folks who got axed.
Highly recommended reading.
October 2, 2026
At time of writing this, the book has only received 1-star reviews from readers that seem to have a personal vendetta against the author. I found the book to be interesting and informative, so I feel compelled to write a review of my own for the first time.
Inside DOGE lives up to its title, providing an intimate look at key moments from the author’s perspective, mostly during the first several months of DOGE’s operation. Despite considering myself decently informed on politics, this book corrected many misconceptions I had about the org’s operations and general structure. There’s a lot of dry process descriptions, but the snappy style with the added color of the author’s own perspective on the department and his activities keeps this engaging throughout.
Prior to reading, I had wondered if this would be a piece of sycophantic propaganda, and while the author clearly takes a positive view of much of the work he was doing, he is still able to provide a relatively even point-of-view that I found refreshing.
My only real quibble is that the chapters tend to be organized more around themes than specific events, so separate chapters often jump backward on the timeline. I found this a bit disorienting at first, and although I quickly learned to expect it, I do wonder if a stricter chronological approach would’ve prevented this whiplash while also avoiding some repetition.
On the whole, I found Hassen’s account to be engaging and insightful, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about DOGE first-hand.
Inside DOGE lives up to its title, providing an intimate look at key moments from the author’s perspective, mostly during the first several months of DOGE’s operation. Despite considering myself decently informed on politics, this book corrected many misconceptions I had about the org’s operations and general structure. There’s a lot of dry process descriptions, but the snappy style with the added color of the author’s own perspective on the department and his activities keeps this engaging throughout.
Prior to reading, I had wondered if this would be a piece of sycophantic propaganda, and while the author clearly takes a positive view of much of the work he was doing, he is still able to provide a relatively even point-of-view that I found refreshing.
My only real quibble is that the chapters tend to be organized more around themes than specific events, so separate chapters often jump backward on the timeline. I found this a bit disorienting at first, and although I quickly learned to expect it, I do wonder if a stricter chronological approach would’ve prevented this whiplash while also avoiding some repetition.
On the whole, I found Hassen’s account to be engaging and insightful, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about DOGE first-hand.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews