Trump’s made up DOGE agency is recruiting ‘super high-IQ’ people to work 80-hour weeks finding ways to cut spending
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Department of Government Efficiency, the non-governmental advisory body Donald Trump has tasked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with using to identify trillions in federal spending cuts, is now officially recruiting. Trump has specified that the DOGE is technically “outside of government” — only Congress can create a new actual department, and an official body, the Government Accountability Office, already recommends government savings — but the Musk-Ramaswamy outfit could still have an enormous impact, especially if Trump follows through with the pair’s open suggestions of cutting thousands of employees from the government alongside the spending programs in their crosshairs. The DOGE is looking to cut $2 trillion in spending, a figure observers say would cause massive changes to the functioning of the government Musk has shown a willingness to make big changes to cut costs in his other ventures, even if they’re controversial. Observers have suggested that Musk and Ramaswamy’s proposed $2 trillion in cuts are almost impossible, or at least highly undesirable, given that they could eliminate most all discretionary government spending outside of mandatory payments to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.