Trump promised to take an axe to the federal government. But this wasn’t on many people’s radar.
And conservatives are speechless after the Trump admin shut down this federal department.
President Trump’s revolutionary push to slash wasteful government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has come to a quiet close well before its planned deadline, according to insiders in the federal ranks.
Scott Kupor, who heads the Office of Personnel Management, dropped the bombshell to Reuters this month, stating flat out that DOGE “doesn’t exist” as a “centralized entity.”
Back when he was still President-elect, Trump unveiled DOGE on November 12. He put powerhouses like Elon Musk from X and Tesla, plus Vivek Ramaswamy, at the helm to shake things up.
“Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I am confident they will succeed!”
Ramaswamy stepped away right around inauguration time to chase his dream of becoming Ohio’s governor, leaving the heavy lifting to the remaining team.
Musk emerged as the real engine behind DOGE, even if he wasn’t officially in charge, charging ahead to trim down bloated agencies, hack away at budgets, and steer resources toward America’s real needs under Trump’s vision.
The tech titan clearly loved the challenge, showing up at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February with a chainsaw handed to him by Argentina’s no-nonsense President Javier Milei.
“This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” Musk proclaimed to the roaring audience, capturing the spirit of cutting through the red tape that’s been choking American innovation for years.
As a special government employee, Musk had to bow out by the end of May to comply with the 130-day service limit in any given year, wrapping up his direct involvement on schedule.
Tensions flared between Musk and Trump over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but the billionaire popped back into the scene last week for a White House bash honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
With DOGE no longer standing alone, the Office of Personnel Management has scooped up a lot of its duties, as Kupor explained to the press.
Key players from DOGE haven’t vanished—they’ve embedded themselves deeper into the system to keep the momentum going, like two top staffers now contributing to the fresh National Design Studio, launched by Trump’s August executive order and run by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to spruce up clunky government sites.
Amy Gleason, who acted as DOGE’s administrator with her tech-savvy healthcare roots, shifted gears in March to advise Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, per legal documents, while still touching base on her old responsibilities.
Folks like Zachary Terrell, who got early access to health systems under DOGE, landed as the chief technology officer at HHS, and Rachel Riley, with similar clearances, took the reins at the Office of Naval Research. Jeremy Lewin, instrumental in gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development, now calls the shots on foreign aid at the State Department.
That signature hiring freeze Trump slapped on agencies from day one—blocking new hires except for critical spots in immigration and safety—has thawed out, with Kupor confirming it’s done.
Trump had insisted DOGE green-light any extras and stick to a strict one-in-for-every-four-out rule to keep the bloat in check.
“There is no target around reductions” these days, Kupor noted, marking a shift but not a surrender in the battle for leaner operations.
Yet the crusade against overregulation presses forward, with the White House budget crew enlisting former DOGE rep Scott Langmack from HUD to build AI tools that sift through rules and flag the ones ripe for the chopping block, as seen on his professional profile on LinkedIn.
