The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created with the ambitious goal of shrinking the size of the federal government, reducing regulations, and cutting trillions of dollars from the federal budget. Led by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, who was appointed to the role after supporting President Trump during the election, DOGE has taken several steps aimed at improving government efficiency. However, these measures have sparked fierce backlash, especially from federal workers now facing demands to increase productivity, return to in-office work, report their activities, or resign if they cannot comply.
One of the primary objectives of DOGE is workforce optimization. In February 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to launch the DOGE Workforce Optimization Initiative, which aims to streamline the federal workforce for better efficiency. In simple terms, this means boosting output with fewer workers, assuming that the total output of the public sector is either fixed or grows slowly, and that there is a significant number of inefficient federal employees. Trump’s strategy focuses on the latter assumption, believing that trimming the workforce will improve overall efficiency.
Another key area for DOGE is regulatory reduction. Throughout his campaign, Trump emphasized his administration’s commitment to deregulation, and proponents of DOGE argue that the department has been crucial in eliminating outdated or redundant regulations, making the business environment more favorable. However, critics question how far DOGE will go in reducing regulations, as there is a baseline level of regulation needed to keep the economy stable. While eliminating overly burdensome regulations makes sense, cutting essential economic and financial regulations that manage systemic risks could have detrimental effects.
When it comes to budgetary reforms, DOGE has proposed substantial cuts to several federal programs, including the Department of Education, USAID, and NASA, in an effort to reduce government spending. However, Trump is not necessarily focused on reducing overall government spending—he aims to reallocate funds from inefficient areas into others. In this light, DOGE’s budgetary actions may simply be a reshuffling of funds rather than a true reduction in spending, meaning there may be little real impact on U.S. public finances.
Quantitative data on DOGE’s effectiveness is scarce, but estimates have been made regarding potential savings. For example, Business Insider projected that DOGE could cancel up to $67 billion in contracts annually, which would represent just 3% of Musk’s original $2 trillion savings goal. With this pace, Musk could save only $268 billion, a mere 14% of the $2 trillion target, and far less than the $1.83 trillion budget deficit reported for FY2024.
Additionally, the proposed cuts to the federal workforce could potentially lead to higher unemployment if these workers are not quickly reabsorbed into the job market. Musk’s plan calls for reducing the federal workforce by 10%, which would mean eliminating around 230,000 jobs—posing a significant challenge for the U.S. labor market.
Since its inception, there has been significant debate over the future of DOGE. Supporters believe its initiatives are vital for reducing the size of government and curbing wasteful spending, fostering a more efficient federal government. However, critics are skeptical about whether the proposed savings are achievable without compromising essential government functions. There are also concerns about the legality of some of DOGE’s actions and the potential negative impact on public services.
In conclusion, DOGE has launched several initiatives aimed at improving government efficiency, but without comprehensive data, it is difficult to assess the full impact of these measures. The future of DOGE will depend on a careful evaluation of its successes, challenges, and the broader implications for government operations.
Written by Michael Ogunremi with great amount of support from AI technologies
Featured image credit – Pexels