I'm not sure exactly what point you are arguing. The issue in this subthread is whether or not cruelty to federal employees is "the point" of the recent action

I'm not sure exactly what point you are arguing. The issue in this subthread is whether or not cruelty to federal employees is "the point" of the recent actions. I claim that it's not the objective, but a side effect. I claim that the Trump administration's main objective is to dissolve these agencies, not specifically to inflict harm on employees. All of the agency de-fundings and dissolutions can be much better explained as serving some other goal: either industry profit, or to make it easier for his party (or Trump himself!) to win in 2028, or to undo some perceived left-leaning agenda. I am hardly advocating for destruction of the USA simply because I disagree with that pithy quotable, "The cruelty is the point."