The Trump administration disbanded the Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE, a controversial federal spending containment group led by Elon Musk, despite months remaining on the unit’s mandate.
Reuters reported for the first time this weekend that DOGE had been disbanded, ending a months-long effort by Musk and his associates—many hired from various private-sector companies—to reduce alleged fraud and waste and cut employees across the federal government. The DOGE was created by an executive order signed by President Trump in January. The initiative was expected to last nearly two years.
As of early November, DOGE “doesn’t exist,” according to Scott Kupor, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which serves as the human resources arm of the federal government.
In a tweet on Sunday, Kupor he said that DOGE “may no longer have centralized leadership” under the US Digital Agency, but “DOGE’s principles remain alive and well: deregulation, eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, reforming the federal workforce, making efficiency a first-class citizen.”
Amy Gleason, who was named DOGE’s “official” acting administrator earlier this year, posted on LinkedIn shortly after Kupor’s comments, with a Doge meme with the words, “I’m alive.”
While active, DOGE claimed to have saved the federal government billions of dollars in lost taxpayer dollars. But critics, including lawmakers, say the DOGE gutted federal programs and government agencies with little to show for measurable savings.
DOGE’s cuts have was also charged for countless deaths around the world following the shutdown of the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, which provided humanitarian aid and disaster relief. DOGE also accessed federal databases containing highly sensitive personal information belonging to millions of Americans and was blamed for security gaps that put that data at risk from malicious adversaries.
Musk left DOGE earlier this year after a public spat with President Trump.
According to Politicomany DOGE officials are said to fear they could face future federal charges without the protection of Musk, who could secure them a presidential pardon if necessary.
Several DOGE officials now work for other US federal government departments, according to Reuters, while other prominent DOGE officials have said they no longer work for the government. Edward Coristin, whose nickname ‘Big Balls’ went viral, said a post on X in June which is “officially out” of the DOGE.
