Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)[note 1] is a proposed presidential advisory commission in the United States. The title is the popularly used moniker of the concept and does not currently represent the official name of the commission. It is tasked with restructuring the federal government of the United States and removing regulations in order to reduce expenditures and increase government efficiency. Despite the name, the Department of Government Efficiency is not planned to be a federal executive department, the creation of which would require the approval of the U.S. Congress.[1]
The idea of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been linked to Trump's campaign promises to cut federal spending and reduce the size of government and the size of the federal fiscal deficit.[2][3]
The concept of DOGE emerged in a discussion between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, where Musk floated the idea of a department for streamlining government efficiency. In August 2024, Trump said at a campaign event that, if he were elected, he would be open to giving Musk an advisory role.[4] In response, Musk wrote a post on X saying "I am willing to serve", along with an AI-created image of him standing in front of a lectern marked "Department of Government Efficiency".[5] Later, the suggestion was made by Trump of establishing such a department and for it to be headed by Musk.[6][7]
Musk has suggested that the commission could help to cut the U.S. federal budget by up to US$2 trillion through measures such as reducing waste, abolishing redundant agencies, and downsizing the federal workforce. Ramaswamy also stated that DOGE may eliminate entire federal agencies and reduce the number of federal employees by as much as 75%.[8][9] DOGE may attempt to do this through re-enacting Schedule F.[10] Musk has also proposed consolidating the number of federal agencies from more than 400 to fewer than 100.[11]
Musk has described deregulation as the only path to the SpaceX Mars colonization program, and promised he will "get the government off people's back and out of their pocket".[12]
On November 5, 2024, Musk suggested that former U.S. representative and two-time Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul could work with DOGE.[14][15]
On November 14, 2024, on social media, Musk called for individuals who were interested in working for the commission to send CVs to DOGE's X account via DM.[16][17]
Plans to create a new congressional subcommittee were announced on November 21 by House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY).[19] This new subcommittee will be called the Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, will be chaired by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and will work closely with DOGE to reduce governmental expenditures.[20][21][22][23] On November 22, Senator Joni Ernst was appointed to lead the corresponding Senate DOGE Caucus.[24][25] On December 3, Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) became the first Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus.[26]
In December 2024, Joni Ernst proposed a bill dubbed "DRAIN THE SWAMP Act", which would require each executive agency to relocate at least 30 percent of employees working at Washington, D.C. headquarters to offices located outside of the D.C. metro area; while also restricting the ability to telework.[27][28][29]
Bipartisan collaboration
As of December 2024, Jared Moskowitz is the only Democrat to have joined the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency caucus in Congress. He has proposed reorganizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by potentially removing agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Secret Service from its jurisdiction. This proposal aims to reduce the size of the DHS.[30]
Vox said that the body is "unlikely to have any regulatory teeth on its own, but there's little doubt that it can have influence on the incoming administration and how it will determine its budgets".[33]
Donald Trump said the body would help to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies". He also stated that Musk and Ramaswamy will work with the Office of Management and Budget to address what he called "massive waste and fraud" in government spending.[34]
According to tweets by Musk and Ramaswamy, the ultimate goal of DOGE is to become so efficient that it eventually eliminates its own necessity. The commission has a set expiration date of July 4, 2026, the United States Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary), which follows Ramaswamy's idea that most government projects should have clear expiration dates.[37]
Trump stated that the entity's work will "conclude" no later than July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence,[38] also coinciding with a proposed "Great American Fair".[39] Trump called the proposed results of DOGE "the perfect gift to America".[40]
On October 28, 2024, at a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden, Musk stated that he believed DOGE could remove US$2 trillion from the U.S. federal budget[43] (a figure higher than the federal government's total discretionary outlays in 2023).[44][45][46] Musk has not specified whether these savings would be made over a single year or a longer period.[47]Maya MacGuineas of the public policy organization Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has said that this saving is "absolutely doable" over a period of 10 years, but it would be difficult to do in a single year "without compromising some of the fundamental objectives of the government that are widely agreed upon".[48]
Questions have been raised whether Musk's and Ramaswamy's companies being contractors to the federal government causes a conflict of interest with their proposed work in DOGE.[49][50][51][52]
In December 2024, Senator Bernie Sanders praised Musk on the plans by DOGE to cut defense spending stating that "Elon Musk is right. The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It's lost track of billions."[54][55] Democratic congressman Ro Khanna also indicated that he would be open to working with DOGE to reduce defense spending.[54]
^Dwoskin, Elizabeth (November 12, 2024). "Trump taps Musk, Ramaswamy to oversee 'drastic' changes to U.S. government". Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2024. In his announcement, Trump proposed the creation of an advisory body, operating outside government. Though it has the word "department" in its name, it would not be a government department — those are created by congressional authorization.
.jpg)
