SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly lead a new U.S. government initiative aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit.
The initiative, called the "Department of Government Efficiency" (D.O.G.E.), has an acronym that matches the code for Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. According to President-elect Donald Trump, the initiative will "eliminate unnecessary regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies."
However, some details of the project remain unclear. Here is all we know so far about DOGE.
What is DOGE?
DOGE is an initiative that the U.S. government is about to launch, first mentioned by Elon Musk in a tweet last August.
While the project initially seemed like a joke (it was created for the sake of a joke, and Dogecoin's price always goes up whenever Musk mentions it, which is not surprising), Trump has expressed support for DOGE's initiative to cut government spending, suggesting that the once-fictional department will actually become a real-life U.S. government agency.
Trump said in a statement on Tuesday: "Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will pave the way for my administration to dismantle bureaucratic agencies, eliminate unnecessary regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies - which is crucial for the 'Save America' movement."
Trump also noted that the project will continue until "no later than July 4, 2026," the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
It's worth noting that, according to the U.S. Congress website, DOGE is not a traditional official department of the U.S. government, as only Congress (not the President) can approve the establishment of new federal government departments.
Trump said that Musk's meme-related creativity will exist "outside" the government system. This means that DOGE may not receive government funding support. It also means that the initiative will have very limited direct control over the budgets of U.S. government agencies, although DOGE's directives may be implemented through Trump's supporters in Congress.
Who will manage DOGE?
Billionaires Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency. According to a Twitter post released by Musk on Thursday, neither will be paid for this work.
Of course, Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and the owner of Twitter (now called X). Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur who was a Republican presidential candidate, but withdrew from the primaries and endorsed Trump.
According to the official post released by the department on Thursday, the initiative will be temporarily staffed by a group of "ultra-high IQ individuals who support the small government revolution," who are willing to work over 80 hours a week to cut shameful costs. Elon Musk tweeted this week that it is still unclear how many employees will be hired to work on the project, but these jobs will be unpaid.
So far, Ramaswamy and Musk have not immediately responded to Decrypt's requests for comment.
What will DOGE actually do?
Trump said that DOGE's responsibility is to provide recommendations and guidance for reducing government regulations and spending through the release of reports, in order to streamline the U.S. government.
"Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency will fix that. We will no longer let the government entangle you, no longer take money from your wallets," Musk said at a Trump rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden in October.
However, the billionaire leaders of the proposed department have different views on how much the U.S. federal government spending should be cut.
Musk suggested cutting federal spending by $2 trillion, which is one-third of the total U.S. federal government budget. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy said he hopes to reduce the number of U.S. federal government employees by 75%, but the impact on the budget is unclear.
Despite these differences, based on recent public comments from Ramaswamy and Musk, the DOGE leaders seem to agree on eliminating a large number of federal government employees and several U.S. agencies, such as the Department of Education and the FBI, to reduce costs.
Musk tweeted on Thursday that "the extent of government waste is beyond public imagination." He was referring to the over $6 trillion in U.S. federal government spending in 2023.
Musk also said that DOGE will hold weekly livestreams to share its progress.
Why is it called DOGE?
The acronym DOGE for the virtual division seems to be a playful reference to Dogecoin (DOGE), the high-market-value meme coin that Elon Musk is fond of. This connection was further strengthened through a T-shirt sold by the official Trump store, which features an image of the former president-elect Trump, Musk, and a Shiba Inu dog.
The meme featuring the Shiba Inu mascot was invented by a pair of software engineers in 2013. Musk has stated that he owns "a lot" of Dogecoins, and he has frequently discussed the token on Twitter over the past few years. In 2021, he even referred to himself as the "Dogefather" and mentioned the token while hosting Saturday Night Live.
During Musk's support for Trump's campaign, the value of Dogecoin has been on the rise, and after Trump's victory and the official announcement of the DOGE leadership, its value has soared even further. Dogecoin hit its highest price in three years last week, driving the value of other popular MEME coins to surge as well.
