Department of Government Efficiency

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) , }} is an initiative of the second Donald Trump administration in the United States. It was established on January 20, 2025, by an executive order which renamed the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) to the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS) and created the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization (USDSTO) within USDS. DOGE's stated goal is "modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity". Its actions have included organizing mass layoffs of federal workers, accessing data from multiple federal agencies, and terminating funding related to: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and climate change initiatives; foreign aid; consumer financial protection; and scientific research.

DOGE emerged from discussions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who was later appointed a Senior Advisor to the President and assumed the role of the initiative's de facto leader. Trump has publicly said that Musk is the head of DOGE, in conflict with White House court filings which deny that Musk is a DOGE employee or that he has authority to make government decisions. USDS is organized in the Executive Office of the President, and its administrator, currently Amy Gleason, reports to the White House chief of staff. USDSTO is scheduled to be terminated on July 4, 2026.

DOGE is controversial and has spawned opposition and lawsuits. Critics argue that Musk's role violates the Constitution's Appointments Clause, and legal experts have warned of a constitutional crisis. Democratic Party members challenged DOGE's authority, and some called its actions a "coup". Further criticism has focused a lack of oversight and Musk's potential conflicts of interest, as he has not divested from his companies, which have billions of dollars in federal contracts and are in active disputes with federal regulators. Musk has said DOGE is maximally transparent, yet Trump has declared DOGE exempt from public disclosure rules. The White House says that DOGE complies with federal law, and that Musk would "excuse himself" if his DOGE activities and business interests conflicted.

Independent analysis has found that DOGE's reports misaccounted tens of billions of dollars, with more than a third of canceled contracts already obligated or yielding no savings. Musk, DOGE, and the Trump administration have made multiple claims of having discovered significant fraud, none of which have held up under scrutiny. According to watchdogs, DOGE is redefining fraud to target federal employees and programs to build political support for their cuts; former Republican budget experts said DOGE cuts were driven by political ideology more than frugality. Despite widespread criticism, Trump has reiterated his support for Musk and DOGE. Provided by Wikipedia