Written by Raphael Satter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump formally announced the creation of an advisory group aimed at implementing dramatic cuts to the U.S. government, prompting ongoing lawsuits challenging its operations.
The group — called the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE” — is co-led by Tesla (NASDAQ: ) CEO Elon Musk and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and has grandiose goals of eliminating entire federal agencies and cutting three-quarters of the federal government’s jobs.
“To restore competence and efficiency to our federal government, my administration will establish a brand new Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump said in his inaugural address on Monday.
Despite its name, the board is not a department and has little formal authority to carry out any reorganization, let alone the breakneck cuts proposed by Musk and Ramaswamy.
Public interest law firm National Security Counselors sued minutes after the announcement, alleging the group was violating a 1972 law governing federal advisory boards. So did the American Public Health Association, the American Federation of Teachers and Citizens for Accountability and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. Another watchdog group, Public Citizen, is suing over the group’s uncertain legal status, along with the union that represents U.S. government employees.
The so-called department’s operations remain unclear, and half of its leadership appears to have lost interest before Trump even took office.
Ramaswamy is leaving DOGE as he prepares to run for Ohio governor, Politico said Monday, citing a person close to him. On Sunday, Politico said he intended to formally announce his bid by the last week of January.
Advisory committees to reduce government waste are often announced with great fanfare and usually achieve little of note. In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan announced a panel of “outstanding private sector experts” to review executive branch spending. In the end, it submitted its report 18 months late; most of his recommendations were never implemented.
