Musk and D.O.G.E: What You Need to Know About the Ministry of Government Efficiency

24-11-18 11:36

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Original Article Title: "Elon Musk and DOGE: What You Need to Know About the Department of Government Efficiency"

Original Article Author: Liz Napolitano

Original Article Translation: Block Unicorn

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly lead a new U.S. government initiative aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit.

This initiative, called the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E), shares its acronym with Elon Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. According to President-elect Donald Trump, the initiative will "cut needless regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies."

However, some details of the project are still unclear. Here is all the information we currently know about DOGE.

What is DOGE?

DOGE is a plan that the U.S. government is about to launch, first mentioned by Elon Musk in a tweet last August.

While the project initially seemed like a joke (created just for laughs, and each time Musk mentions it, Dogecoin's price tends to rise, which is not surprising), Trump has expressed support for DOGE's initiative to cut government spending, implying that this once fictional department will actually become a real-life adjunct of the U.S. government.

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump said, "Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will work together to pave the way for my government to dismantle government bureaucracy, cut needless regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies — all crucial to the 'Save America' movement."

Trump also noted that the project will continue until "no later than July 4, 2026," the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

It is worth noting that, according to information from the U.S. Congress website, DOGE is not an official department of the U.S. government in the traditional sense because only Congress (not the President) can approve the establishment of new federal government departments.

Trump has stated that Musk's meme-related initiatives will exist "outside" of the government system. This means that DOGE may not receive government funding support. It also means that the project's direct control over the budget of U.S. government agencies will be very limited, although DOGE's directives may be implemented through Trump's supporters in Congress.

Who Will Manage DOGE?

Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Government Efficiency Department. According to a tweet posted by Musk on Thursday, both of them will not be compensated for this role.

Of course, Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of Twitter (now called X). Ramaswamy, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur who was a Republican presidential candidate. He dropped out of the race during the primaries and went on to support Trump.

According to an official post from the department on Thursday, the plan is tentatively to be composed of a group of "ultra-high IQ, small government revolution-supporting individuals" who are willing to work over 80 hours per week to cut costs in a not-so-glamorous fashion. Elon Musk tweeted this week that it is currently unclear how many employees will be hired to work on this project, but these positions will be unpaid.

As of now, Ramaswamy and Musk have not immediately responded to Decrypt's requests for comment.

What Will DOGE Actually Do?

Trump stated that DOGE's duty is to provide advice and guidance through reports to reduce government regulation and spending, thus streamlining the U.S. government.

"Your money is being wasted, and the Government Efficiency Department will fix that. We will no longer let the government entangle you, no longer reach into your wallets," Musk said at a Trump rally held in Madison Square Garden in New York City in October.

However, the billionaire leaders of this quasi-department have given different views on how much the U.S. federal government spending should be reduced.

Musk suggested cutting federal spending by $2 million, which is a third of the total U.S. federal government budget. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy expressed his desire to reduce the number of U.S. federal government employees by 75%, although the budgetary impact of this reduction is not yet clear.

Despite these differences, based on recent public comments by Ramaswamy and Musk, the DOGE leaders seem to agree on trimming a significant number of federal government employees and a few U.S. agencies, such as the Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to cut costs.

On Thursday, Musk tweeted, "The degree of government waste is out of control and is much higher than most people imagine." He was referring to the US federal government's spending of over $6 trillion in 2023.

Musk also stated that DOGE will host a weekly live stream to share its progress.

Why Is It Called DOGE?

The virtual department's acronym DOGE appears to be a playful reference to Dogecoin (DOGE), a meme coin beloved by Elon Musk with a high market value. This connection was further reinforced through an official Trump merchandise T-shirt featuring a design of President-elect Trump, Musk, and a Shiba Inu.

This iconic emoji, known for its Shiba Inu mascot, was created by a pair of software engineers in 2013. Musk has previously stated that he holds a "heap" of Dogecoin, and over the past few years, he has often discussed this token on Twitter. In 2021, he even referred to himself as the "Dogefather" and mentioned the token while hosting Saturday Night Live.

During Musk's support for Trump's campaign, Dogecoin's value soared, and it continued to rise after Trump's victory and the official announcement of the DOGE leadership. Dogecoin hit its highest price in three years last week, driving up the value of other popular meme coins.