What started as a “memecoin” back in 2013 has now become an impactful and powerful government agency, perhaps one of the most in recent American history: DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, has been spearheading mass firings, program cancellations, and other budget cuts under the Trump administration for weeks, despite not being an department of the U.S. government.

Operating out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, the agency, which was officially the United States Digital Service, has been tasked by President Trump with drastically reducing federal spending. Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, now a Special Advisor to the President, is in charge of the program, but the White House has still said that Musk isn’t an actual government employee or someone with the authority to make government decisions. 

DOGE actions have already resulted in multiple lawsuits, with plaintiffs claiming that the agency doesn’t have the power to implement mass firings of workers in “inefficient” federal agencies, or cancel previously established foreign aid under USAID, which was already passed and funded by Congress. It has also targeted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, or DEI, within the government, claiming that DEI is “illegal”. Given neither the President nor DOGE has the constitutional authority to cancel established government spending, there is a constitutional dilemma at hand, with the U.S. Supreme Court set to have a major say in just how far Musk can go.

As for the numbers, thousands of government employees across various agencies, some vital, have been fired with little notice, and around 75,000 have accepted a mass “buyout” offer to leave their jobs, which is also currently disputed in a lawsuit. DOGE has self-reported savings of around $55 billion, but independent media analyses have questioned that high figure, and DOGE later took down various reported savings after being confronted by reporters.

What is receiving the most attention now is the dynamic between Musk and Trump’s cabinet, especially after the first official cabinet meeting Thursday. Musk has now twice sent an email to every federal employee, including judges, demanding a summary of what they have done over the last five days, and reporting suggests that he plans to run responses through an AI program to determine which positions are non-essential. According to warnings, “non-compliance will lead to further review”, and Musk has threatened ot fire anyone who doesn’t respond. However, various department heads, also appointed by Trump, have urged employees not to respond to those emails, creating confusion and a showdown. But Trump seems to be siding with Musk, implying that anyone who was unhappy with Musk should “get out” of the meeting.

DOGE policies and actions will face a plethora of legal challenges over the next few months, so it’s not ultimately clear whether or not they will stand. But in the meantime, they are having massive impacts on every part of the U.S. government and bureaucracy.