President Donald Trump signed an agreement on Monday executive Order Officially created the Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting initiative run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The EO included new details about DOGE's goals and structure, such as the mandate to upgrade the government's IT systems.
mr trump first DOGE announced A statement in November said the effort would “provide advice and guidance from outside the government.” He said in November that the goal would be to provide recommendations to “reduce excess regulations, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.”
Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an opinion article in the November Wall Street Journal that they Target of reduction of 500 billion dollars Annual federal costs include “expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or are being used in ways that Congress never intended.”
But Mr. Trump’s executive order states that DOGE will actually be housed within the executive branch rather than serving as an external advisory committee. The EO also states that the existing White House office called the US Digital Service – a unit that primarily works on improving government websites and technology – will be renamed the US DOGE Service.
The EO says the purpose of DOGE will be to “implement the President's DOGE agenda by modernizing federal technology and software to maximize government efficiency and productivity.”
The executive order does not include any details about cutting federal spending, reducing regulations, or restructuring federal agencies. Of course, the lack of mention in the EO about cost cutting doesn't mean that DOGE won't tackle those issues as well, as well as take on the mandate to upgrade federal IT systems.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DOGE lawsuit
EO DOGE comes in the form of faces multiple lawsuits on its structure and efforts so far, with the cases filed shortly after Mr Trump's inauguration on Monday. The lawsuits claim that because DOGE was acting as a federal advisory committee, it was in violation of a law called the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or FACA.
The FACA regulates the functions and transparency of federal advisory committees, requiring them to operate transparently and publicly, as well as include representation of those who may be affected by their operations.
But Mr. Trump’s EO establishing DOGE as an entity within the executive branch makes it appear that the effort will not function as a federal advisory committee. The groups that filed the lawsuit, including national security consultants and public interest firms, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the EO would affect their cases.
Ramaswami is leaving DOGE
Meanwhile, DOGE is losing one of its co-leaders including Ramaswami entry On January 20, it was said on social media that he was withdrawing from this effort. CBS News said Ramaswami intends to announce a campaign for Ohio governor in late January informed,
“It was an honor to help create DOGE. I am confident that Elon and the team will be successful in streamlining government,” Ramaswamy wrote.
According to Mr. Trump's EO, DOGE will be a “temporary organization” that will focus on “advancing the President's 18-month DOGE agenda.” The EO says that DOGE will expire on July 4, 2026.
On Monday, Trump said there would be “about 20 people” working in DOGE's office.
According to the US Digital Service, the unit currently has approximately 230 employees. Recent work by the unit includes assisting the IRS on its new Direct File service, as well as improving the Social Security Administration's website. DOGE says its SSA is working Estimate To save the agency approximately $285 million over five years in infrastructure spending.