On January 20, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump formalized the “Department” of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, with one of his 26 executive orders to “pave the way for [his] Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
DOGE was originally set to be led by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, along with failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy has since slipped away stating, “I’m pursuing elected office very shortly. An announcement is coming soon,” likely alluding to the Ohio Governor’s race in 2026. Both men have dismissed speculation of a falling out, citing differences in leadership styles and desired reformation routes.
After being denied an office in the White House, DOGE is operating out of an office space leased by SpaceX in Washington, D.C., about four blocks away from the White House. The “department” is set to move to the Eisenhower Executive Building, which is across the street from the White House.
President Donald Trump pictured with centibillionaire Elon Musk at a SpaceX rocket launch. Musk is set to lead Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency”, and will likely greatly influence the incoming Trump administration. (Photo Courtesy of Public Domain)
Elon Musk still hasn’t fully explained how he plans to cut $1–2 trillion. He is pursuing this unrealistic goal to limit the effects of large tax cuts Trump has been touting, and to “drain the swamp”, a popular slogan in the MAGA community referencing the desire to cut down on “inefficient bureaucracy”.
The Republican Party has long supported a strong defense budget, so it is unlikely Musk will be able, much less try, to cut the defense budget significantly. He could attempt to cut the amount the government pays to certain military contractors; however, three of his companies, StarLink, Tesla, and SpaceX, all hold contracts with the military so it is doubtful he will push to lower those.
If Musk attempts to unbiasedly cut federal funding to states and state organizations, he will be cutting large chunks of many state economies that voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election: including Montana, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Alaska all of which rely on federal money for more than a quarter of their economies.
While Trump had long promised not to touch Social Security benefits, Medicare, and Medicaid in March of 2024 in an NBC interview he stated, “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.” His campaign later stated he was supposedly “clearly talking about cutting waste, not entitlements,” even though he presented “cutting” and “bad management” as separate ideas.
Another possible threat government aid faces is Russel Vought, Trump’s nominee for the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB. He has previously stated veterans should be tested and based on their results they might not receive VA benefits, located on page 82 of his proposed budget plan, when pressed on this topic during his senate hearing he dodged and refused to answer the question. In his contribution to Project 2025, he wrote about severely cutting government spending without full regard for who it would harm. OMB has already given Musk unprecedented near-total access to many federal payment systems.
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