According to Trump administration officials, including Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) no longer exists. That would mean that the initiative, meant to limit the size and cost of the federal government, is gone after just eight months, but DOGE itself may have something to say about that.
Reuters first reported the advisory agency’s demise on Monday.
President Donald Trump’s executive order creating the program, initially led by billionaire Elon Musk, stated that it would continue into next summer.
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‘That doesn’t exist’
When Reuters asked Kupor about DOGE’s status, he replied, “That doesn’t exist.”
In the Trump administration’s first public remarks about shuttering DOGE, he also said it is no longer a “centralized entity.”
Established in January, DOGE rapidly decreased the federal workforce while redirecting resources toward initiatives at the top of Trump’s agenda.
But an analysis by Politico found that DOGE’s budget slashing actually amounted to 5% of the billions in savings it claimed from canceling thousands of government contracts.
According to Kupor and files reviewed by Reuters, the federal government’s human resources office, or OPM, has managed operations formerly run by DOGE.
Where have some DOGE employees gone?
Reuters reports that at least two notable former DOGE employees now work with the National Design Studio, a new entity which Trump established through an executive order in August. That government body is now reportedly led by Joe Gebbia, the cofounder of Airbnb. The executive order also instructs him to enhance the look of government websites.
Gebbia was reportedly part of Musk’s DOGE team, while staffer Edward Coristine, also known as “Big Balls,” pushed on social media for more people to join the program.
Other DOGE staff have reportedly moved on to other roles within the federal government. They include Jeremy Lewin, who helped the Trump administration dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Lewin now manages foreign aid at the State Department.
Musk and Trump touted DOGE
Musk often championed DOGE’s work on his X social media platform and came out with a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February to tout his efforts to cut down the size of the federal workforce and slice through bureaucracy.
“This chainsaw for bureaucracy, ” Musk said at the event in National Harbor, Maryland.
The White House continues to promote what it sees as a successful effort.
“President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
Is DOGE really gone?
Despite the seemingly clear messaging from Kupor, DOGE doesn’t seem to think that it “doesn’t exist.” The group’s X account posted an update later on Monday.
It said, “As usual, this is fake news from @Reuters. President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to modernize the federal government and reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Just last week, DOGE terminated 78 wasteful contracts and saved taxpayers $335M.”
Sorting the “Wall of Receipts” on DOGE’s website by date shows that the group’s last recorded activity was documented at the start of October.
Hiring freeze ends
Reuters also detailed that some DOGE-led initiatives are changing or ending. Kupor said that a government-wide hiring freeze, a signature part of DOGE, is now over.
Trump had previously halted federal agencies from hiring new employees, with exceptions for staff hired for immigration enforcement and public safety. The president later said any other exceptions must go through a DOGE representative, on the condition that agencies hire “no more than one employee for every four” who leave.
“There is no target around reductions” any longer, Kupor told Reuters.
Ongoing Trump administration efforts
The report did not detail why DOGE seemed to end earlier than scheduled. Several Republican-led states have announced their own DOGE-related efforts to reduce government size.
The Trump administration is also still focusing on cutting regulations it sees as overly bureaucratic or an obstacle to economic development.
Meanwhile, Musk, who had a public falling out with Trump earlier this year, was seen in Washington, D.C., where he attended a White House dinner for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
