The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is an initiative established by the second Trump administration via Executive Order 14158 on January 20, 2025, aimed at modernizing federal technology, maximizing governmental efficiency, and reducing wasteful spending. It is not a traditional Cabinet-level department but rather a restructured version of the United States Digital Service (USDS), renamed the United States DOGE Service, and placed within the Executive Office of the President. Led by Elon Musk and initially co-led by Vivek Ramaswamy (who later stepped down to run for governor of Ohio), DOGE operates as an advisory and operational entity with a goal to complete its mission by July 4, 2026, as a “250th birthday present” to the United States.
Here’s a summary of key actions and initiatives attributed to DOGE based on available information up to June 1, 2025:
- Technology Modernization and Software Initiatives:
- DOGE has focused on modernizing federal technology and software. The USDS Administrator launched a Software Modernization Initiative to improve government-wide software, network infrastructure, and IT systems, aiming to enhance efficiency and productivity.
- At the General Services Administration (GSA), DOGE influenced a shift to an “AI-first strategy,” with plans to write software using AI coding agents, deploy vibe coding agents to federal workers, and position GSA as a model AI agency.
- At the Social Security Administration (SSA), DOGE pushed to migrate base code from COBOL to a modern programming language, targeting completion in months despite expert warnings that such a transition typically requires years for safety and testing.
- Contract and Spending Reviews:
- DOGE teams, embedded within federal agencies, reviewed existing contracts and grants to identify and terminate or modify those deemed wasteful, particularly targeting funds to educational institutions and foreign entities for waste, fraud, and abuse. This process began immediately after the February 26, 2025, Executive Order on cost efficiency, with reviews completed within 30 days.
- Former Tesla employee and DOGE member Tarak Makecha sent directives to the Justice Department to terminate contracts with the Acacia Center for Justice, an action noted in an April 2025 court case.
- DOGE highlighted federal spending not authorized by Congress, with reports noting over $500 billion in appropriations to expired programs in the prior year, aiming to curb such expenditures.
- Workforce Reductions and Restructuring:
- DOGE facilitated mass layoffs, with a February 11, 2025, Executive Order implementing a hiring ratio of one new employee for every four departures to reduce the federal workforce through attrition and efficiency improvements.
- On January 28, 2025, over two million government employees received a “deferred resignation offer,” encouraging resignation by September 2025 if they did not return to in-office work five days a week, mirroring a tactic Elon Musk used at Twitter in 2022.
- DOGE targeted agencies like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for potential closure, with Musk alleging, without evidence, that it was a “criminal organization,” reflecting criticism of foreign aid.
- Data Access and Integration:
- DOGE gained access to sensitive systems, including the Treasury Department’s payment system for Social Security beneficiaries and contractors, prompting lawsuits from advocacy groups and unions alleging privacy law violations.
- At the SSA, DOGE demanded access to databases containing Social Security number holder information, with members like Michael Russo, Steve Davis, and Akash Bobba pressuring officials for full access, including source code.
- At the Department of Homeland Security, DOGE built a master database linking SSA data, IRS data, biometric data, and voting records, with members Edward Coristine, Kyle Schutt, Aram Moghaddassi, and Payton Rehling accessing Immigration and Naturalization Service data on refugees, asylum seekers, and others.
- Regulatory and Program Cuts:
- DOGE aimed to slash excess regulations, with Musk and Ramaswamy planning to present a list to President Trump for immediate pause of enforcement and review for rescission, leveraging executive action.
- At the Department of Education, DOGE deployed AI to probe for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and employee spending, targeting cuts to what Musk and Trump identified as “left-wing policies.”
- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) faced scrutiny as an early target for potential elimination, aligning with Trump’s criticism of foreign aid.
- Real Property and Travel Management:
- Agencies were ordered to update the Federal Real Property Profile Management System within 7 days of the February 26, 2025, Executive Order to ensure accurate real property inventories. Within 30 days, agency heads identified termination rights for government-owned property leases, consulting DOGE teams to decide on exercising them.
- Agency heads, with DOGE team assistance, built systems to centrally record approvals for federally funded non-essential travel, aiming to curb unnecessary expenditures.
- Controversial Actions and Criticism:
- DOGE’s actions sparked protests over mass layoffs, service cuts, privatization, and data extraction, with United States Digital Service employees resigning in protest.
- The SSA, influenced by DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security, falsely listed over 6,000 living immigrants as deceased on April 8, 2025, amid efforts to use SSA data against immigrants, leading to the escorting out of senior SSA executive Greg Pearre after clashes with DOGE member Scott Coulter.
- DOGE’s funding reached nearly $40 million within the administration’s first month, despite its cost-cutting mission, drawing criticism for hypocrisy.
- Legal challenges emerged, with groups like Public Citizen and the American Federation of Government Employees suing on January 20, 2025, arguing DOGE violated federal privacy laws and transparency rules for advisory committees.
- Critics, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, called DOGE an “unelected shadow government” conducting a “hostile takeover,” while law professor Gillian Metzger noted that the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling might limit DOGE’s ability to reinterpret statutes for deregulation.
- Transparency and Public Engagement:
- Musk promised all DOGE actions would be posted online for transparency, including a “leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending” of tax dollars, though concerns arose when the administration classified DOGE documents as presidential records, blocking public access until at least 2034.
- Ramaswamy proposed crowdsourcing examples of government waste, fraud, and abuse to engage the public.
Impact and Outcomes:
- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) began auditing DOGE in March 2025 over data handling across agencies, reflecting concerns about its broad access and methods.
- Treasury and IRS officials predicted a 10%+ drop in tax receipts by April 15, 2025—over $500 billion in lost revenue—partly due to DOGE-driven workforce reductions.
- While supporters praised DOGE for targeting waste, critics warned of operational disarray, economic impacts, and potential increases in income inequality, drawing parallels to the Reagan era.
Note: DOGE lacks direct authority to issue rules, rescind regulations, or enforce laws, operating instead as an advisory and operational entity influencing agencies via executive action and coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Its effectiveness remains debated, with legal, ethical, and practical challenges ongoing as of June 1, 2025. (Grok)