The so-called Department of Government Efficiency has reportedly died a quiet death after months of generating havoc throughout the federal government, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, and falling well short of its originally stated goals.
Reuters reported on Sunday that DOGE, which was formerly spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, shut down eight months ahead of its scheduled end. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told the outlet “that doesn’t exist,” regarding DOGE.
The quiet shuttering of DOGE is a far cry from the hype and publicity the project had following Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election. Trump appointed Musk to run DOGE, with Musk promising that “trillions” in purportedly wasteful government spending would be cut.
Trump said DOGE had the potential to be the “‘Manhattan Project’ of our time” and said it would conclude “no later than July 4, 2026.”
From the outset, the project trafficked in lies. It was described as a “department” but had not gone through the legal process to be a true government department. That early falsehood set the tone for the months of mayhem that followed.
President Donald Trump, left, and billionaire Elon Musk.
At Trump and Musk’s behest, teams of people hired for DOGE were deployed throughout the federal government. These operatives bullied and harassed federal employees, subjecting them to interviews purportedly in search of federal waste. In reality, these actions kept federal workers busy with nonsensical tasks like Musk’s demand they email a list of their accomplishments to their superiors every week.
DOGE agents infiltrated key agencies, like the IRS, and triggered layoffs of officials tasked with collecting the taxes of the ultrawealthy (like Musk). Key databases containing private data on virtually every American were exposed to unvetted DOGE operatives, many of them in place due to their loyalty and fandom for Musk.
The actions of DOGE were constantly challenged in court. Multiple federal judges ruled that DOGE had incorrectly removed federal employees, costing taxpayers millions when those people had to be rehired.
Some DOGE staffers held openly bigoted views. For instance, DOGE employee Marko Elez bragged on social media before joining the project, “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.”
Trump even used a reported assault on a staffer known online as “Big Balls” to justify his authoritarian crackdown on Washington, D.C.
Musk originally claimed DOGE would save taxpayers “trillions.” But shortly after launch, the project simply began making up claims about how much money had purportedly been “saved”—claims that crumbled under scrutiny.
In addition to potentially costing taxpayers money, DOGE led the government’s cessation of aid to the developing world, which could cause thousands of deaths.
DOGE’s actions led to nationwide protests against Trump and Musk, suggesting that few will mourn the project now that it appears to be dead.
