Elon Musk’s newly formed team, the Department of Government Efficiency, has managed to insert itself in at least 14 federal agencies and departments - looking for ways to cut costs and raising alarm bells with watchdogs.
DOGE staffers, many of whom have been subject to controversy due to their lack of experience or proximity to Musk’s other businesses, have been reportedly seen working in the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Center for Disease Control, the FBI and more within the last week.
In addition, Musk targeted the workforce at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Democrats have pushed back on the drastic changes while state attorneys, federal worker unions, advocacy organizations and others have filed lawsuits trying to stop Musk and his team from quickly dismantling many decades-old established agencies and departments.
But with President Donald Trump’s unwavering support, it’s unclear how successful others will be in trying to stop Musk from overhauling the federal workforce and government in the name of cutting costs and replacing civil servants with administration loyalists.
“I’m very proud of the job that this group of young people, generally young people, but very smart people, they’re doing,” Trump said. “They’re doing it at my insistence. It would be a lot easier not to do it, but we have to take some of these things apart to find the corruption.”
Musk, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, appears to have vast authority as a “special government employee” with few limitations and little oversight.
In a matter of one day, Musk managed to place thousands of USAID employees on administrative leave while attempting to merge the humanitarian aid agency with the State Department. He alleged the agency was rampant with improper spending despite reports saying the contrary.
A federal judge intervened on Friday, forcing Musk to reinstate them temporarily.
This past week, Musk’s team of young aides – some of whom are recent high school graduates – gained access to Treasury Department payment and data systems, raising alarm bells with Democrats who held a rally outside of the building in protest.
A federal judge temporarily restricted the team’s access to some information on Saturday.
Installing allies within the Office of Personnel Management, Musk and his team offered buyouts to tens of thousands of federal workers, reportedly without the consent of career officials. A move that is also temporarily blocked by a judge.
They have also taken control of some of the government’s basic functions, which are controlled under the General Services Administration by installing allies and directing staff to follow orders to end policies.
Despite pushback from Democrats, federal employees, organizations and federal judges, neither Musk nor Trump seems to be deterred.
When asked if there was anything Musk was not allowed to touch in the government, the president told reporters that he and Musk “haven’t discussed that much,” but he did give some advice on what not to touch.
“I guess maybe you could say some high intelligence or something. And I’ll do that myself if I have to,” the president said.
“I’ve instructed him to go check out Education, to check out the Pentagon, which is the military,” Trump added.
However, looking at the military raises concerns as Musk’s companies has contracts with the defense department totaling billions of dollars. Trump once said they would be mindful of any potential conflicts of interest, but downplayed those fears on Friday.
“Elon is doing a tremendous job,” Trump said Friday. “He’s wanted to be able to do this for a long time.”
