• Wion
  • /World
  • /Elon Musk’s DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’? US official reveals SHOCKING truth

Elon Musk’s DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’? US official reveals SHOCKING truth

Elon Musk’s DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’? US official reveals SHOCKING truth

Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)

Story highlights

DOGE was set up in January and was tasked to shrink the federal agencies rapidly, cut their budgets or redirect their work to priorities as per the US President. 

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which carried out a campaign of slashing government spending and firing thousands of federal employees, has reportedly been dissolved eight months before its contract ended. DOGE was led by Elon Musk, who had a fallout with the US President Donald Trump earlier this year in May. This comes amid suspicions that the agency, which was created by Trump on his first day in office, was on its way out.

“That doesn’t exist,” Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when he was asked about the department’s status. He added that DOGE was no longer a “centralised entity.”

DOGE was set up in January and was tasked to shrink the federal agencies rapidly, cut their budgets or redirect their work to priorities as per the US President. OPM, the federal government’s human resources office, has taken over many functions of DOGE, as per Kupor and Reuters reports citing documents.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

More than 200,000 federal workers were laid off, while 75,000 accepted buyouts by May. DOGE said that the cuts saved billions of dollars. However, critics said it was impossible to verify the claims due to a lack of public accountability.

“We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible,” Musk said in February. “I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization.”

Rehousing of DOGE employees

Trending Stories

The suspicions that DOGE may have been disbanded started to rise when Politico reported in June that staffers had “packed up their clothes and bedding” at the department’s headquarters, where they had been living since February. The report added that they were looking for new homes.

The rehousing came shortly after a dramatic feud between Trump and Musk on social media, when many former employees were reportedly worried about criminal repercussions associated with their role in DOGE programs.

DOGE’s key players moved into other roles

Several DOGE staff have taken on other roles across government. Among the most prominent ones was Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb. He has now been tasked by Trump to improve the “visual presentation” of government websites.

Amy Gleason, the acting administrator, became an adviser to the health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, in March. Zachary Terrell, another senior official of DOGE, is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health, while Rachel Riley is now chief of the Office of Naval Research, according to Reuters.

About the Author

Share on twitter

Prajvi Mathur

Prajvi Mathur is a Sub-Editor at WION with over 2 years of experience in journalism and digital content. With a keen interest in geopolitics and national affairs, she covers a wide...Read More