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

2024-11-18 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 co-lead a new U.S. government initiative aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit.

This initiative, named 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 plan will "cut excessive regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize 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 fun, and whenever Musk mentions it, Dogecoin's price surges, which is not surprising), Trump has expressed support for DOGE's initiative to reduce government spending, suggesting that this once-fictional department will actually become a real-life affiliate of the U.S. government.

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump said, "Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly pave the way for my government to dismantle government bureaucracy, cut excessive regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize federal agencies—this is crucial for 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 on 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 ability to directly control the budgets 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?

Billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Government Efficiency Department. According to Musk's tweet posted on Thursday, neither of them will receive compensation for this position.

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

According to an official post released by the department on Thursday, the plan is tentatively set to be composed of a group of "ultra-high-IQ, small-government-revolution-supporting individuals" willing to work over 80 hours per week to cut down unflattering expenses. 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 request for comment.

What Will DOGE Actually Do?

Trump has stated that DOGE's duty is to provide advice and guidance through reports on reducing government regulation and spending to streamline the U.S. government.

"Your money is being wasted, and the Government Efficiency Department will solve that. We will no longer allow the government to entangle you, no longer take money out of your wallet," Musk said at a Trump rally held in October in Madison Square Garden, New York City.

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

Musk has suggested cutting federal spending by $2 trillion, which is one-third of the total U.S. federal government budget. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has expressed a desire to reduce the number of U.S. federal government employees by 75%, although the budgetary impact of such reductions remains unclear.

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

Elon Musk said on Thursday on Twitter, "The level of government waste is beyond the public's imagination." He was referring to the over $6 trillion in U.S. federal government spending in 2023.

Musk also mentioned that DOGE will hold a live stream every week to share its progress.

Why is it called DOGE?

The acronym DOGE for this virtual division seems 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 emoji pack, famous for its Shiba Inu mascot, was created by a pair of software engineers in 2013. Musk has said he holds "a bunch" of Dogecoin and has talked about the token frequently on Twitter in recent years. 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 election campaign, the value of Dogecoin soared, and after Trump's victory and the formal announcement of the DOGE leadership, its value skyrocketed even further. Dogecoin hit a three-year high last week, driving up the value of other popular meme coins.