SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new initiative from the U.S. government aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit. Called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), this initiative shares the same acronym as Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
According to elected President Donald Trump, DOGE will 'cut unnecessary regulations, wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies.' However, there is still not much specific confirmation about the project beyond the information below.
What is DOGE?
DOGE is an upcoming initiative of the U.S. government, first posted by Elon Musk on X last August.
Although the project initially seemed like a joke – created as a stunt in line with Musk's typical style of pushing Dogecoin prices up, Trump has supported DOGE's efforts to cut government spending, suggesting that this once-derided department will actually become a real entity connected to the U.S. government.
'Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the effort to reform the government, break the bureaucratic machine, cut unnecessary regulations, end wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies — essential steps for the Save America movement,' Trump stated in a statement on Tuesday.
He aims for DOGE to be operational by July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Notably, DOGE is not an official department of the U.S. government in the traditional sense, as only Congress – not the President – can approve the establishment of new federal government departments, according to the U.S. Congress website.
Instead, Trump stated that Musk's meme-related brainchild will exist 'outside' the government system. This means that DOGE will not receive government funding, and the project's ability to directly control the budgets of U.S. government agencies will be very limited, although DOGE's directives may be implemented by Trump supporters in Congress.
Who will run DOGE?
Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency and commit to carrying out the mission without compensation.
Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and is also the owner of X (formerly Twitter). Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, has withdrawn from the primary race and has shifted to support Donald Trump.
This initiative will also involve a group of 'talented government reformers with high IQs who are willing to work over 80 hours a week to minimize unnecessary costs,' according to DOGE's official post on Thursday. Musk also stated that the number of people to be recruited for this project has not yet been determined, but the jobs in the department will not be paid.
What is the actual mission of DOGE?
According to Trump's statement, the mission of DOGE is to streamline the U.S. government by providing reports, proposals, and guidance aimed at cutting regulations and public spending.
'Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency will put an end to this. We will ensure that the government no longer annoys and wastes your resources,' Elon Musk stated at a Trump campaign event at Madison Square Garden, New York, in October.
However, the billionaire leaders of DOGE have had differing views on the extent of federal spending cuts. Musk proposed a $2 million cut to the federal budget, equivalent to about one-third of the total budget of the U.S. government. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy supports a plan to cut up to 75% of the federal workforce, although the specific impact of this measure on the budget has yet to be clarified.
Despite differences over the spending cut plan, DOGE leaders seem to agree on implementing strong workforce reductions in federal government agencies and some U.S. organizations, including the Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in order to cut costs, according to recent public comments from Ramaswamy and Musk.
'The scale of government budget waste far exceeds what the public can imagine,' Musk tweeted on Thursday, referring to the level of spending of the U.S. federal government, which reached $6 trillion in 2023.
Musk has stated that DOGE will hold weekly live broadcasts to share updates on their progress.
Why is it called DOGE?
The name 'DOGE' clearly refers to Dogecoin, the memecoin that Musk has praised multiple times. This connection is further highlighted by an official t-shirt sold by Trump, which features images of the elected president, Musk, and the Shiba Inu dog – the mascot of Dogecoin.
This meme, created in 2013 by two software engineers, is linked to the image of the famous Shiba Inu dog. Elon Musk has publicly acknowledged owning a 'pack' of Dogecoin multiple times and has frequently mentioned the currency over the years. In 2021, he even referred to himself as the 'Dogefather' and mentioned it throughout the Saturday Night Live show.
The value of Dogecoin increased amid Musk's support for Trump throughout the campaign and then surged after Trump's victory as well as in light of the official announcement of DOGE's leadership. DOGE reached a three-year high last week and helped propel other notable memecoins to new price peaks.
