Trump creates ‘DOGE’ advisory group, prompting instant lawsuits
RICKY CARIOTI/POOL VIA REUTERS
Elon Musk arrives ahead of the 60th inaugural ceremony where Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president, today, in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump has officially announced the creation of an advisory group aimed at carrying out dramatic cuts to the U.S. government, attracting immediate lawsuits challenging its operations.
The group — dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE” — is being co-run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and has grandiose goals of eliminating entire federal agencies and cutting three-quarters of federal government jobs.
“To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand new Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump said in his inaugural speech Monday.
Despite the name, the committee is not a department and has little official power to carry out any reorganization, let alone the head-spinning cuts proposed by Musk and Ramaswamy.
Public interest law firm National Security Counselors sued within minutes of the announcement, alleging that the group was breaking a 1972 law that governed federal advisory committees.
So too did the American Public Health Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. Another watchdog group, Public Citizen, is suing over the group’s uncertain legal status, along with a union representing U.S. government employees.
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The workings of the so-called department remain obscure and half its leadership appears to have lost interest before Trump even took office.
Ramaswamy is leaving DOGE as he gears up for a race to be the governor of Ohio, Politico said on Monday, citing a person close to him. On Sunday, Politico said he intends to formally announce his bid by the last week in January.
Advisory committees on cutting government waste are often announced to great fanfare and typically accomplish little of note. In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan announced a group composed of “outstanding experts from the private sector” to review the executive branch’s spending. It ended up delivering its report 18 months late; most of its recommendations were never implemented.
