The commission charged with cutting federal spending began to crumble even before the shocking split between Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The baby is sick. Abandoned by his father, Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is facing the departure of officials close to the former adviser and ally of the Republican president. The commission tasked with reducing public spending has been linked to the Tesla boss since its creation on January 20, the first day of Donald Trump's second term.
Many of Doge's employees come directly from the companies of the world's richest man, who left the government at the end of May. The beginning of the crisis. "Employees fear being 'dogged' themselves," headlines the Wall Street Journal. "I'm worried about Elon [Musk] leaving, no one will join us, and all this will slowly fade," warns Sahil Lavingia, a former software engineer for Doge, to the American daily.
Serial departures
During the violent altercation between Donald Trump and Elon Musk via social media this Thursday, June 5, messages are flying between coworkers, reports the business newspaper. They are wondering about their future at the Doge, threatened by the threat of dismissal. A shame for those who fired thousands of civil servants.
Following the SpaceX CEO's "baseless personal attacks" on the President of the United States, James Fishback, one of the architects of the Doge, announced to Politico the following day that he was stepping away from the Department of Government Efficiency. The founder of an investment firm had proposed sending a portion of the Doge's savings directly to American taxpayers by check.
"Cabinet officials and senior Trump administration officials are returning to power," writes the Washington Post. According to the American daily, several Doge figures left even before the public feud between the White House tenant and Elon Musk: the latter's lieutenant, Steve Davis, who oversaw the agency on a day-to-day basis; James Burnham, Doge's general counsel; and advisor Katie Miller, who now works for the controversial billionaire. Anthony Armstrong, another close associate of the X owner, left the government in April, reports the Wall Street Journal. As a banker, he helped Elon Musk take over Twitter.
Results far from expectations
Doge had about 100 employees at its peak. Current staff fear "political retaliation" and "potentially becoming future targets of the administration," according to multiple ABC News sources. Some are starting to look for work elsewhere. ABC's news arm reveals that tech companies are interested. Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase has even created "a hiring portal specifically for recruiting former Doge employees."
Although the conservative-majority Supreme Court granted Doge access to personal data held by Social Security on Friday, June 7, Doge is losing influence in various government agencies. For example, a Doge team was barred from accessing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) buildings in early June, according to the Washington Post. The four members of the commission, all SpaceX employees, were also reportedly deprived of their logins and user accounts for the FAA's internal computer systems.
Elon Musk left the Doge with a record that fell far short of his initial promise of $2 trillion in savings. $180 billion in federal spending cuts were made in four months, a figure likely greatly overestimated. Elon Musk's baby still has a long way to go. Provided the Trump administration gives it room to grow.