Elon Musk’s DOGE takes aim

The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has officially kicked off its campaign to make significant changes to the federal government on an agency-by-agency basis.

Musk, who’s been named a special government employee, oversees a team of people at DOGE who have been dispersed throughout federal agencies to gather information and deliver edicts.

The Treasury Department is a major initial target. In recent days, DOGE officials have been granted access to a Treasury payment system that distributes trillions of dollars in entitlement benefits, grants, and tax refunds to Americans each year, according to multiple reports.

• DOGE’s goal is to review the overall efficiency of the Treasury’s system, sources said.
• The officials reportedly have “read only” access, and aren’t able to stop individual payments or make other changes.

Foreign aid is also in the spotlight. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is receiving major scrutiny from Musk, who described the agency as “beyond repair” and said President Trump has agreed to let him shut it down (though some top Trump advisers disagree).

💬 The rumor mill: The Trump administration is currently weighing executive actions to dismantle the Education Department as part of DOGE’s campaign to shrink the federal government, per a new Wall Street Journal report.