- President Trump has signed an executive order establishing a new advisory group
- The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be headed by Elon Musk
- The department is tasked with modernizing government software and digital infrastructure
Newly inaugurated President Trump has signed a series of executive orders after being sworn in, including announcing the US Digital Services (USDS) will be renamed US DOGE Services (also USDS).
The advisory group known as DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is tasked with restoring “competence and efficiency to our federal government,” Trump affirmed in his inaugural address.
DOGE has already made its first efficiency cut in its co-chairman Vivek Ramaswamy, who was previously tipped to join Tesla CEO Elon Musk as head of the department, but sources have since announced he will run for governor of Ohio instead.
Not just a department
To create an official federal executive branch, a president would have to introduce a law on Congress so this newly created group would not have the powers of an executive branch — which would be necessary to carry out the reorganization and sweeping job and budget cuts proposed by Musk and Ramaswamy.
The executive order instead laid out plans for “software modernization” to advance the government’s network infrastructure and IT systems, as well as giving USDS access to “unclassified” agency records, IT and software systems “in accordance with law”.
In addition to modernization plans, the executive order has created a temporary organization, the US DOGE Service Temporary Organization, set to expire on July 4, 2026, which will look to advance Trump’s “18-month DOGE agenda.”
Musk has previously suggested that DOGE would ease $2 trillion in cuts by reducing the workforce and reducing waste, although experts have warned that this would not be possible.
Three lawsuits have been filed in federal court since the executive order was signed, alleging the department violates transparency requirements, as well as highlighting the lack of balance in its membership and proper advisory committee procedures.
Via TechCrunch
