What will the new Department of Government Efficiency actually do?
Images: Chip Somodevilla/Getty | Samuel Corum/Getty
Shortly after his victory in the 2024 election, President-elect Trump named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The logistics: According to Trump, the new initiative âwill pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.â Musk, the worldâs richest person, and Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate, were both tapped to serve as co-chiefs.
- Despite its name, DOGE technically isnât a new government âdepartment,â but rather an outside advisory commission thatâll work with the White House Office of Management and Budget to implement its recommendations.
- Since DOGE will operate outside the federal government, Musk and Ramaswamy wonât be required to divest their business holdings.
The game plan for DOGE
In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Musk and Ramaswamy laid out their vision for the new commission theyâve been tasked to lead.
- Eliminating regulation: The two leaders say theyâll work with legal experts to cut federal regulations in compliance with recent Supreme Court rulings, which suggest many existing regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted federal agencies and should be scrapped.
- Reducing the federal workforce: With fewer regulations in place, Musk and Ramaswamy say federal agencies wonât need as many employees, resulting in âmass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy.â They also say DOGE aims to help the affected workers find positions in the private sector.
- Cutting government spending: The DOGE co-chiefs say they plan to challenge a 1974 law preventing the White House from reducing spending approved by Congress, and will also attempt to cut a large portion of âthe $500 billion plus in annual federal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended.â
Looking ahead⌠Trump gave Musk and Ramaswamy a deadline of July 4, 2026, to complete their work at DOGE.
đ Flash poll: In general, do you support the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency?
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying â
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that DOGE feeds into a false notion that the path to efficiency lies in even more administrative bureaucracy, and also shows how big campaign promises are often built on fiction and reflect ignorance of how government works.
- Others contend that while the federal government is overdue for an overhaul, Trumpâs agenda isnât about good-government reforms â but rather revolves around punishing and purging officials who maintain their oaths to the Constitution instead of serving Trumpâs personal interests.
- âMuskâs Efficiency Department Is Highly Inefficientâ âKathryn Anne Edwards, Bloomberg
- âTrumpâs great government purge beginsâ âCatherine Rampbell, WaPo
- âThe Department of Government Efficiency Is Inefficientâ âTimi Iwayemi, The American Prospect
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that DOGE is much needed in this day and age, where outsized federal outlays are driving prices higher and undermining our fiscal health, while the regulatory blitz undertaken by Bidenâs government hampers the growth needed to dig out from under our government debt.
- Others contend that to avoid falling into irrelevance like previous efficiency efforts, Musk and Ramaswamy will need to take the kind of dispassionate approach they would to an ailing business put into receivership.
- âDOGE is no joke â donât underestimate Trumpâs attack on government inefficiencyâ âLiz Peek, The Hill
- âTrumpâs DOGE must do more than make big government more efficientâ âScott Hodge, The Tax Foundation
- âTrump shouldnât wait on DOGE to rein in federal remote âworkââ âNew York Post Editorial Board
Share this!
Recent Discussion stories
Discussion
  | November 22, 2024The world is divided over how to split the bill for climate change
đ COP29 is set to wrap up today, but the main question it hoped to address â how much developed countries should pay developing ones to fight climate change â remains unanswered.
Discussion
  | November 20, 2024The political winds of change are blowing for both major parties (Part 2/2)
đď¸đľ Itâs the finale of a two-part series focused on how both major political parties have changed in recent years; the Democratic Party, fresh off its disappointing 2024 election, is up next.
Discussion
  | November 18, 2024The political winds of change are blowing for both major parties
đď¸đ´ Weâre starting a 2-part series focused on how the Republican and Democratic Parties have changed in recent years â with the GOP, fresh off its 2024 victory, first up on the list.
You've made it this far...
Let's make our relationship official, no đ or elaborate proposal required. Learn and stay entertained, for free.đ
All of our news is 100% free and you can unsubscribe anytime; the quiz takes ~10 seconds to complete