The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the high-profile task force created by President Donald Trump to slash federal bureaucracy, has silently collapsed a full eight months before its official mandate was due to expire.
This quiet demise stands in stark contrast to the months of boasts from Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, and top administration officials, who regularly championed its aggressive cost-cutting mission.
The Official Confirmation of Demise
In the first official confirmation of its end, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor stated bluntly when asked about DOGE's status: 'That doesn't exist.' He added that it is no longer a 'centralized entity'.
The agency, established in January at the start of Trump's second term, made dramatic forays across Washington. Its mission was to rapidly shrink federal agencies, cut their budgets, and redirect their work to align with Trump's priorities.
According to Kupor and internal documents, the OPM – the government's human resources office – has now absorbed many of DOGE's former functions.
From Chainsaws to a Quiet Fade-Out
The disappearance of DOGE is a remarkable shift from the government-wide effort to publicise its work. Trump, his advisers, and cabinet secretaries frequently posted about it on social media.
Elon Musk, who initially led DOGE, was its most vocal promoter. He regularly touted its work on his X platform and, in a memorable stunt last February, brandished a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 'This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,' Musk declared, holding the tool aloft to symbolise his efforts to cut government jobs.
DOGE claimed to have slashed tens of billions in expenditures, though these figures were impossible for outside experts to verify due to a lack of detailed public accounting.
A government-wide hiring freeze, a hallmark of DOGE's approach, is also now over, Kupor confirmed. By May, the administration had laid off more than 200,000 federal workers, with another 75,000 accepting buyouts.
Legacy and Moving On
Key personnel from the defunct task force have moved into new roles within the administration. At least two prominent DOGE employees are now involved with the National Design Studio, a new body created by a Trump executive order in August.
This studio is headed by Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, who was also part of Musk's DOGE team. Trump has tasked him with beautifying government websites.
Other former DOGE staff have taken on significant positions: Zachary Terrell is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Jeremy Lewin, who helped dismantle the US Agency for International Development, now oversees foreign assistance at the State Department.
Despite the agency's dissolution, the administration continues to pursue its deregulatory goals. The White House budget office has tasked a former DOGE representative with creating AI applications to pore through US regulations and determine which ones to eliminate.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston stated, '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.'
Musk, who left Washington after a public feud with Trump in May, has since reappeared, attending a White House dinner for the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince last week.
