Elon Musk’s DOGE ‘no longer exists’ after contract ends early
Elon Musk leaves the stage holding a chainsaw after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20. (Getty)
Elon Musk leaves the stage holding a chainsaw after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20. (Getty)
The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), once headed by Elon Musk, “no longer exists”.
Musk is believed to have donated an estimated $250 million (approximately £190 million) to Donald Trump’s presidential re-election campaign, and once the Republican leader returned to the White House in January, the owner of X/Twitter and Tesla chief executive became the head of newly created department.
However, Musk left role in May, having overseen cuts to foreign aid and thousands of federal jobs axed – moves that prompted boycotts of his businesses.
The department has now been disbanded, despite having eight months remaining of its contract. Office of personnel management director Scott Kupor confirmed DOGE’s end, saying it no longer existed as a “centralised entity”. Critics claimed it had delivered few of the promised savings.
Many of DOGE’s functions have been taken over by the Office of Personnel Management, according to Kupor and documents reviewed by Reuters, while several key employees have been moved to other government roles, including the National Design Studio, an initiative, led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, aimed at improving how Americans experience the government, online and in person.
President Trump directed Gebbia to beautify and improve government websites by enhancing their design, user experience and functionality.
Musk regularly used X to rave about his DOGE work. He even took a chainsaw on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in an attempt to illustrate his efforts to cut what he called government waste.
“Just last week, DOGE terminated 78 wasteful contracts and saved taxpayers $335M (£255 million),” one post read. “We’ll be back in a few days with our regularly scheduled Friday update.”
However, independent financial experts have been unable to verify if the department slashed tens of billions of dollars in expenditures, as suggested, because no detailed public account of its work was published.
“President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment,” White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston wrote in an email to Reuters.
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