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- DOGE is one of the most ambitious efforts to reform the federal government in decades.
- Elon Musk is working closely with Trump to slash spending across the government.
- The White House DOGE Office faces multiple lawsuits seeking to block its work.
The White House DOGE Office was created by an executive order by President Donald Trump and is one of the most ambitious efforts to slash spending at the federal level in decades.
Ostensibly led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, DOGE’s mission is to make government leaner and more effective. As a temporary organization, DOGE is set to complete its work on July 4, 2026.
In January 2025, Musk said he’d cut at least $1 trillion from the federal budget, telling the political strategist Mark Penn that up to $2 trillion in spending cuts was the “best-case outcome” for DOGE.
Almost immediately, DOGE attracted lawsuits from Democrats and union groups concerned that Musk’s team had access to sensitive information within several federal agencies.
Here’s a look at how DOGE aims to upend the US government in Washington.
Where did the idea of DOGE come from?
For decades, Republicans have railed against what they’ve decried as excessive government spending that they feel has only been encouraged by layers of bureaucracy in the nation’s capital.
In his three presidential runs, Trump made tackling the federal deficit and cutting the size of government important themes of his campaign. However, the issue took on added resonance in 2024 as many Americans remained weary of inflation and federal spending.
In July 2024, Musk suggested on X that Trump could establish a presidential commission on “government efficiency” and select him to lead it. Trump liked the idea and confirmed in August 2024 that he was considering Musk for an advisory role.
Musk then took to X, saying, “I am willing to serve,” with an image of him standing before a “Department of Government Efficiency” lectern.
In the campaign’s final weeks, Musk was a fixture on the trail, particularly in swing-state Pennsylvania, where he stumped hard for Trump.
After Trump defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2024, he announced that DOGE would be co-led by Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk initially said DOGE jobs would have “zero” compensation, however, in January 2025 it was announced that DOGE would be hiring some salaried employees.
The Department of Government Efficiency has the acronym of one of Musk’s favorite memes, which features the image of a Shiba Inu dog. It is also inspired by the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
What has DOGE accomplished so far?
As Trump was enjoying his inaugural festivities, reports emerged that Ramaswamy would be leaving DOGE before his now-launched gubernatorial bid in Ohio, making Musk the primary face of the conservative president’s task force.
From the start, DOGE aimed to analyze federal contracts and spending at government agencies, and Musk quickly moved to call out expenditures on issues like foreign aid and DEI initiatives.
However, the quick pace of DOGE’s work to remake government in the vision of Trump and Musk has left many in Washington — and across the country and world — stunned.
During a joint appearance in the Oval Office in February 2025, Trump and Musk announced that DOGE had uncovered “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse” in its first few weeks.
Trump said a final number could reach “close to a trillion dollars,” but neither he nor Musk gave many specifics regarding the figures. Trump also signed an executive order that directs agency heads to work with DOGE to identify “large-scale reductions in force.”
DOGE has sought to prune the government workforce, and the Trump administration offered buyouts to federal employees, who were given a deadline to accept an offer to be paid through September 2025. According to the administration, around 77,000 federal workers accepted the offer.
One of the biggest targets for both Trump and Musk so far has been the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, which distributes foreign aid. Trump wants to shut down the independent government agency, which provides funding for everything from HIV/AIDS treatment to investments in water and sanitation access.
The push is part of Musk’s desire to “delete” agencies that he feels are wasteful or have outlived their usefulness.
Another target is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Republicans have criticized since its creation under President Barack Obama in 2011. DOGE also cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the Department of Education’s research office, with the task force announcing that they’d “terminated” contracts.
A wave of probationary employees — who have generally been in their roles for one or two years — were also laid off across the federal government, even in key departments like Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management.
However, in March 2025, two federal judges ordered the temporary reinstatement of thousands of those probationary workers. It’s one of the most significant judicial pushbacks to the head count reductions that Trump and DOGE have pursued.
How will Congress work with DOGE?
Republicans, who retained control of the House and retook the Senate in the 2024 elections, are overwhelmingly supportive of both Trump and DOGE.
The GOP-led House Oversight Committee in November 2024 announced the formation of the Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee, which is chaired by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, with Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico serving as the ranking member.
Both parties have expressed a desire to eliminate wasteful spending and boost transparency. However, Stansbury said Democrats would seek accountability for DOGE.
“We will not sit silently by and watch the Administration recklessly and lawlessly dismantle our federal agencies, fire and harass federal employees, withhold federal funds, and hack our private and sensitive data,” she said in a statement.
Then there’s the GOP-led House DOGE caucus, which is co-chaired by Reps. Aaron Bean of Florida, Blake Moore of Utah, and Pete Sessions of Texas. Democrats Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Steven Horsford of Nevada are also part of the caucus. Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon left the caucus in February 2025 after accusing Musk of trying to “line his own pockets and rip off Americans.”
Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa leads the Senate DOGE caucus.
Republicans remain aligned with Trump’s agenda, and with the threat of potential Musk-funded primary challengers in 2026, GOP lawmakers have largely backed DOGE’s work.
Still, Congress controls federal spending.
On Capitol Hill, some GOP lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about the pace of DOGE’s actions.
And as Republicans return to their home districts for town halls, many face angry crowds. Constituents have grilled lawmakers over the firings of federal workers — and the ramifications of the dismissals on core government services.
What criticism has DOGE faced?
Even during its conception, questions arose regarding whether DOGE could make a dent in federal spending.
With most federal spending going toward Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the defense budget, it is unclear how deeply DOGE will be able to make its desired cuts. (Trump has repeatedly pledged not to touch Medicare and Social Security.)
DOGE was also granted access to a Treasury Department payment system that contains sensitive information about millions of Americans, ramping up privacy concerns. In late February, a federal judge in New York granted a preliminary injunction keeping DOGE staffers out of the Treasury system.
There has also been some scrutiny regarding staffing hires. DOGE has drawn criticism for its inexperienced staff members — some are in their early 20s or even as young as 19.
Business Insider obtained a DOGE staff list with the records of roughly 30 individuals who are now employed by the White House’s DOGE office. They have backgrounds in industries like tech, finance, and law. Some have worked at Musk’s companies like SpaceX or The Boring Company, and others have worked as software engineers, venture capitalists, or even law clerks for Supreme Court justices.
Marko Elez — a 25-year-old who previously worked at SpaceX and X and was a member of Musk’s team — resigned from the Treasury Department in February 2025 after The Wall Street Journal brought to light racist social media posts. Vice President JD Vance called for Elez to be rehired, and Musk said he’d rehire Elez after a poll on X found 78% of participants in favor of the move.
And then there’s the issue of who actually runs DOGE.
Musk, who is considered to be a special government employee, has been widely seen as the leader of the task force.
However, a White House official told Business Insider in late February that Amy Gleason, an ex-US Digital Service official, is the acting DOGE administrator.
During Trump’s joint address to Congress in March 2025, the president said DOGE is “headed” by Musk.
But in a court filing, Gleason indicated that Musk “does not work” for the US DOGE Service, which was rebranded from the United States Digital Service.
“I do not report to him, and he does not report to me,” Gleason said of Musk in a declaration. “To my knowledge, he is a Senior Advisor to the White House.”
Lawsuits against DOGE
An array of lawsuits have been filed by critics challenging DOGE’s actions.
In February, 19 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Trump and the Treasury Department alleging a violation of federal law in granting DOGE staffers access to the personal financial data of Americans.
Another lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration by several nongovernmental organizations that receive US foreign aid over DOGE’s attempts to shutter USAID. The plaintiffs argued that the administration “violated the separation of powers.”
A US District judge subsequently ordered the administration to unfreeze foreign aid payments in February.
In March, the US Supreme Court rejected Trump’s request to freeze roughly $2 billion in foreign aid in a 5-4 vote. Days later, a federal judge ordered that Trump had to make the payments owed to USAID and State Department partners.
The National Treasury Employees Union filed two lawsuits over the CFPB’s stoppage of work and Musk and DOGE aides’ access to the personal information of the agency’s staffers.
The White House has denounced the lawsuits, with principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields likening the plaintiffs to “children throwing pasta at the wall to see if it will stick.”
“Grandstanding government efficiency speaks volumes about those who’d rather delay much-needed change with legal shenanigans than work with the Trump Administration of ridding the government of waste, fraud, and abuse,” Fields said.
Business Insider has reached out to a DOGE spokesperson for comment.