What is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

The Donald Trump, Elon Musk partnership was one of the most controversial parts of Trump’s 2024 campaign. Hours after Trump got shot, Elon Musk announced on his platform Twitter/X that he would support Trump and begin boosting him online. Musk also created the “America” super PAC which gave the Trump campaign $200 million. Part of the partnership was the idea of Musk joining Trump’s administration in a role that would help the government become efficient. This evolved into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Musk will be joined by Vivek Ramaswamy and Rep. Marjorie Greene in this endeavor. This has been praised by former speaker Kevin McCarthy and Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. It has also been attacked by Democrats for the fact that Musk has sizable government contracts (news outlets estimate the amount ranges from $12 to $16 million) and he may be cutting his competitors’ contracts while keeping his own.

One of the main questions about DOGE, is what authority and limitations the department will have. The DOGE will not be a full-fledged department but instead, an advisory body that does not need to be confirmed by Congress. Trump has called this "the perfect gift to America" as it nears its 250th anniversary and the DOGE is expected to finish its work at that time. The DOGE's first main ambition as laid out on its X account is balancing the budget. Doing so would take time so they would like to start by cutting at least $500 billion from the federal budget. In their first statement, they pointed out past examples of the government “wasting” tax dollars such as Nearly $1M to study if cocaine makes Japanese quails more sexually promiscuous. $28 million on licensing fees for a green “camouflage” pattern on Afghan National Army uniforms. These examples come from tweets by DOGE. While those are a few examples, the department has not laid out solutions for balancing the budget. Many fear they could support abolishing programs like Medicare and departments like the Department of Education. The DOGE lacks executive authority but is expected to play a huge role in helping Trump reshape government, including state and local governments which rely on significant federal funding. Furthermore, it will give Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy a voice in the government which is exciting for many but concerning for many people throughout the political spectrum.

Overall, this will be one of the most interesting parts of this Trump administration and we will be following what this turns into in the coming year.