DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’ with eight months left on its charter
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has quietly wound down operations with eight months remaining in its mandate, bringing an early end to an initiative launched with major fanfare as part of Trump’s promise to dramatically shrink the federal government. Critics, however, say the unit produced few verifiable savings.
“That doesn’t exist,” Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE’s current status.
Kupor said DOGE is no longer functioning as a “centralized entity,” marking the first public acknowledgment from the Trump administration of the project’s end.
Established in January, DOGE made aggressive moves in the early months of Trump’s second term, pushing federal agencies to downsize, trim budgets, or shift operations in line with Trump’s priorities. Much of DOGE’s work has since been absorbed by the OPM, the government’s human resources arm, according to Kupor and documents reviewed by Reuters.
At least two high-profile DOGE officials are now connected to the National Design Studio, a new organization created by a Trump executive order in August. The studio is led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, directed by the president to modernize and improve the appearance of federal government websites.
Gebbia previously worked on DOGE under billionaire Elon Musk, while another DOGE staff member, Edward Coristine—known online by the nickname “Big Balls”—has publicly encouraged applicants to join the new design initiative.
The quiet phase-out stands in stark contrast to the months-long publicity blitz surrounding DOGE, during which Trump, senior advisers, cabinet secretaries, and Musk frequently promoted the project’s mission to reduce bureaucracy. Musk, DOGE’s initial leader, often touted its efforts on his X platform and once wielded a chainsaw onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference as a symbol of cutting government red tape.
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” Musk declared at CPAC in February.
DOGE claimed it had cut tens of billions of dollars in federal spending, though outside financial analysts were unable to verify the figure due to the group’s lack of public reporting.
“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 spokeswoman Liz Huston said in an emailed statement.
While Trump administration officials have not formally announced DOGE’s dissolution—even after Musk’s very public fallout with Trump in May—the president and senior staff have increasingly referenced DOGE in the past tense. This is despite Trump having previously signed an executive order stating the agency would continue until July 2026.
Acting DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason, who came from the health-tech sector, officially became an adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy in March. Her public communications have focused largely on that role rather than DOGE.
Several Republican-led states, including Florida and Idaho, are now creating their own local versions of DOGE-style efficiency programs.
A government-wide hiring freeze—one of DOGE’s signature early actions—has also expired, Kupor confirmed. On his first day in office, Trump halted most federal hiring, allowing exceptions for immigration enforcement and public safety roles. Additional exceptions required DOGE approval, and agencies were instructed to bring on no more than one new employee for every four who left.
“There is no target around reductions anymore,” Kupor said.
FORMER DOGE STAFF EMBRACE NEW ROLES
Many former DOGE personnel have moved to new posts within the administration. Gebbia now leads the federal effort to overhaul the “visual presentation” of government websites, and his team has already created portals for recruiting Washington, D.C. law enforcement and promoting the president’s drug-pricing initiatives.
Zachary Terrell, once part of DOGE’s team with early access to federal health systems, is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services. Rachel Riley, who held similar access, now directs the Office of Naval Research.
Jeremy Lewin—who helped Musk and the administration restructure the U.S. Agency for International Development—now oversees foreign assistance programs at the State Department.
Musk has long argued he was mandated to dismantle excessive federal regulation. Under DOGE, he promoted sweeping deregulation, expanded artificial intelligence integration, and major workforce reductions.
The administration is continuing its regulatory overhaul. The White House budget office has tapped Scott Langmack, formerly DOGE’s representative at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to use custom AI tools to analyze U.S. regulations and identify those to be eliminated, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Musk, despite earlier tensions, returned to Washington this week to attend a White House dinner for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chris Sanders and Deepa Babington)
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