What is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

On the heels of the Pentagon's 7th failed audit in a row, with billions of dollars unaccounted for, people and politicians on both sides of the political spectrum now more than ever are wondering where these funds are going and how the government can lose billions of dollars. With Donald Trump's recent reelection into office, the president has announced the development of a new Department of Government Efficiency (which is not an official government department but acts more like an agency), aimed at cutting federal spending and reducing the size of government to lower the federal deficit. This operation is to be headed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the ambitious goal of cutting 2 trillion dollars in federal spending. They plan on doing this through cutting agencies as well as the federal workforce.

Unanimous Support

According to Pew Research, last year 57% of Americans believe that reducing the deficit should be a top priority. That number has only increased from 45% in 2022. Prominent figures from the left and right have spoken out about the large deficit and high government spending, with support to lower both. Bernie Sanders recently said “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. Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change". Another prominent democrat Jared Moskowitz has decided to join the DOGE caucus stating that "reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue". On the right side of the political spectrum, there is mass appeal for the program from a vast number of Republicans.

Sources

“Bernie Sanders Turns Heads with Support for Donald Trump’s Doge, ‘Elon Musk Is Right.’” Hindustan Times, 2 Dec. 2024, www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/bernie-sanders-turns-heads-with-support-for-donald-trumps-doge-elon-musk-is-right-101733102692893.html.

Brooks, Emily. “GOP Greets Doge with Excitement but Expects ‘Friction.’” The Hill, The Hill, 5 Dec. 2024, thehill.com/homenews/house/5023000-doge-government-efficiency-republicans-congress/.

“Department of Government Efficiency.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Government_Efficiency#:~:text=The%20idea%20of%20a%20Department,of%20the%20federal%20fiscal%20deficit.

Ferguson, Malcolm. “Meet the Democrat Helping Elon Musk Gut the Federal Government.” The New Republic, 3 Dec. 2024, newrepublic.com/post/188972/meet-democrat-helping-elon-musk-gut-federal-government.

Green, Ted Van. “6 Facts about Americans’ Views of Government Spending and the Deficit.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 24 May 2023, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/24/6-facts-about-americans-views-of-government-spending-and-the-deficit/.

Honderich, Holly. “What Is Doge, Trump’s New Team Headed by Elon Musk?” BBC News, BBC, 5 Dec. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23vkd57471o.

JACKSON WALKER | The National News Desk. “Bernie Sanders Backs Doge as It Eyes Pentagon Budget Cuts: ‘Elon Musk Is Right.’” WBMA, www.abc3340.com/news/nation-world/bernie-sanders-backs-doge-as-it-eyes-pentagon-budget-cuts-elon-musk-is-right-department-of-government-efficiency-trump-vivek-ramaswamy-department-of-defense. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

Murphy, Hannah, and George Hammond. “Marc Andreessen Helps to Recruit Staff for Elon Musk’s US Cost-Cutting Body.” Subscribe to Read, Financial Times, 5 Dec. 2024, www.ft.com/content/1f14799f-69a1-41cb-bf7f-6f16f9ad4a8b.

The Trump administration has showed admiration in Argentina's President Javier Milei and his "Chainsaw Plan" of aggressive government expenditure cutting and have cited this as an inspiration for DOGE's plan

Lofty Goal

The program's lofty goal of slashing two trillion dollars in spending may not be feasible. Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution said to slash one-third of the government’s spending like Musk has pledged is “insane”. She followed up by saying roughly two-thirds of the total budget is mandatory and includes programs like Social Security and Medicare. “This is the first warning sign that this is going to be a failed operation". Vivek Ramaswamy has come forward and supported the idea that DOGE is not planning to cut Social Security or Medicare. Any plans that DOGE plans to create would likely have to get approved by Congress and then implemented.

Applications and Staffing

Elon announced on X that they will be taking applications and that workers "should expect 80+ hour workweeks". He followed up by saying that there would be "unglamorous cost-cutting” and that everyone who works at DOGE would not be rewarded with a salary. This begs the question of who would willing to accept this position with long hours and no pay. In my opinion, this opens up the door for either bad actors with agendas who are being paid by certain companies to push agendas or protect certain industries or on the other hand inexperienced and die-hard Elon supporters who will do whatever it takes to get on a team with him (possible with the idea of working at Tesla or another one of Elon Musk's company's). There are still a lot of unknowns about this project such as this exact question, but the cracks are starting to form already that may prove my hypothesis to be correct. The Financial Times reported that Marc Andreessen venture capitalist and billionaire will be "playing a central role in recruiting for Elon Musk’s US government cost-cutting unit" while also "suggesting potential candidates and introducing his network as the department begins to hire staff". This leads one to wonder why so many billionaires are involving themselves with the government, and how they are all able to collectedly benefit from being in power. Many of these billionaires like Andreessen and Musk have been acquaintances for some time. Having billionaires with clear agendas running a program that is going to change the way up to two trillion dollars is dispensed or distributed could have massive implications if left unchecked.

The idea of cutting useless government spending, holding government agencies more accountable, and tackling the deficit, are all important, however allowing billionaires with clear agendas to volunteer to advocate for major decisions towards the allocation and importance of trillions of dollars in funding is a recipe for disaster. It will be interesting to see how the many unknowns of the "department" will shake out, and if they can effect meaningful or positive changes.