The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a flagship initiative of Donald Trump's second term launched with great fanfare to slash the size of the US government, has been officially disbanded, a senior official has confirmed. The agency was shut down despite having eight months remaining on its original mandate, which was set to run through July 2026.
The Rise and Fall of a Bureaucracy Buster
Established in January 2025, DOGE was the physical embodiment of Trump's pledge to cut government waste. It made dramatic early forays across Washington, aiming to rapidly shrink federal agencies, cut their budgets, and redirect work to align with the president's priorities. The department was initially led by billionaire Elon Musk, who became its most vocal promoter.
Musk regularly touted DOGE's work on his social media platform, X, and memorably brandished a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2025. "This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy," Musk declared, holding the tool aloft. The stunt was designed to advertise his aggressive efforts to cut government jobs.
However, the confirmation of its demise came from Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, who stated in the first public comments from the Trump administration on the matter: "That doesn't exist." He clarified that DOGE is no longer a "centralized entity." The functions of the defunct department have since been absorbed by the OPM, the federal government's human resources office.
Legacy and Dispersal of Personnel
While DOGE claimed to have slashed tens of billions of dollars in expenditures, outside financial experts could not verify these figures due to a lack of detailed public accounting from the unit.
The end of the agency also signals the conclusion of a government-wide hiring freeze, another hallmark of the DOGE era. Kupor confirmed, "There is no target around reductions" anymore.
Key personnel from DOGE have moved into new roles within the administration. Most notably, Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb who was part of Musk's DOGE team, now heads the National Design Studio, a body created by a Trump executive order in August to beautify government websites.
Other former DOGE staff have taken on significant positions, including Zachary Terrell as chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services and Rachel Riley as chief of the Office of Naval Research.
A Quiet Demise After a Loud Beginning
The disbanding of DOGE stands in stark contrast to the months of high-profile promotion it received from Trump, his advisers, and cabinet secretaries on social media. Its fade into obscurity occurred even after a public feud between Musk and Trump in May, after which Musk left Washington. He has since reappeared, attending a White House dinner for the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince.
Trump administration officials had not openly declared DOGE's end until now, though the president himself has often referred to the department in the past tense in recent statements to reporters. A White House spokeswoman, Liz Huston, maintained that "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."
Despite DOGE's dissolution at the federal level, its model is seeing a second life, with Republican-led states including Idaho and Florida creating local entities inspired by the initiative.
