22 March 2025
During the 2024 election, tech entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramsamamy took prominent roles in Donald Trump’s campaign. After his victory in November 2024, Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was to be led by Musk and Ramaswamy who left the project early in the year. This unofficial department has now been made a part of the United States Digital Service Office, which previously focused on improving the digital and technological facilities of the federal government. The focus of DOGE has been slashing government expenses with wild abandon. But there is still time to turn DOGE into a valuable resource that can actually make the government more efficient [1].
When DOGE was first announced, it came under heavy criticism for its plans. Democrats and institutionalists were worried that Musk wanted to dismantle the controls of government by slashing the money spigot that the agencies depend on. DOGE intends to satisfy the pledge of making the government more efficient by slashing federal spending. Musk and Ramaswamy proposed cutting large parts of the government because they felt there was too much bureaucracy. Proponents of DOGE argue that there are too many onerous regulations that curb the abilities of ordinary Americans to fulfill their jobs [2]. They argue that the enormity of hundreds of thousands of regulations makes it hard to innovate and get anything down in the country [3].
But the previous government and the previous iteration of this office had already been working on this. One of the tasks that the United States Digital Service Office had handled in previous administrations was setting up and deploying the program that gave Americans the ability to file their taxes directly with the IRS instead of going through middlemen like H&R Block. This program is just one example of the government trying to make the government more efficient for its citizens.
This is what the Department of Government Efficiency should continue to focus on: cutting waste from government spending in order to rein in the national debt.
One of the proposals that the Department of Government Efficiency has offered is having a liaison at every other department that would report back to DOGE. However, in my opinion, these liaisons should be outsiders who are not connected to any entity, lobbying group, or industry group who would be able to come in and review areas that might fall under the category of government waste. This approach aims to ensure an unbiased assessment of departmental operations, allowing for a fresh perspective on inefficiencies that might otherwise go unnoticed. By selecting independent liaisons with no prior affiliations to the agencies they evaluate, the Department of Government Efficiency can foster greater transparency and accountability. Additionally, these liaisons could provide regular reports with recommendations for cost-saving measures, streamlining processes, and eliminating redundancies, ultimately improving government functionality and reducing unnecessary expenditures.
There have been numerous reports across the government that have detailed large amounts of spending that would fall into the category of government waste. One such report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the federal government made $236 billion in “improper payments” during fiscal year 2023, including both underpayments and overpayments. Cleaning up these “improper payments” would save the government large amounts of time and money [5].
The department that needs the most attention is the Department of Defense. This department has failed financial audits year after year because no one can track where the money is going. Having someone who is not connected to the military-industrial complex go on and examine all the contracts and regulations under the Department of Defense ensures that they will not be swayed by the defense industry’s lobbying [6].
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have positioned the Department of Government Efficiency as an office that will slash every last bit of government they view as inefficient even if it benefits people. As we have seen, that has impacted people in the United States and millions around the world who rely on the United States. Foreign aid has been slashed as Musk takes a sword to USAID. But this is the wrong way to do this. The position that this office should take is one where independent people review departments for genuine waste. Waste like where there is too much money being paid or contracts are not being fulfilled, or there are too many errors. The Department of Government Efficiency has the potential to do some remarkable things to help the government and lower the national debt, but this can only happen if non-governmental leaders like DOGE work together with bureaucrats.
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Works Cited
[1] Fowler, Stephen. “With a New Home for Doge in the White House, Here’s What You Need to Know.” NPR, January 29, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/29/nx-s1-5270893/doge-united-states-digital-service-elon-musk-usds-trump-white-house-eop-omb.
[2] Alejandro E. Camacho, Robert L. Glicksman and James Goodwin. “Inefficient and Reckless: Why Doge Could Be so Dangerous .” The Hill, December 3, 2024. https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5018190-trump-government-efficiency-doge/.
[3] Rugy, Veronique de. “Regulations’ Enormous Costs Give Doge an Enormous Opportunity.” Reason.com, December 19, 2024. https://reason.com/2024/12/19/regulations-enormous-costs-give-doge-an-enormous-opportunity/.
[4] “A Closer Look at the IRS Direct File Pilot.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/a-closer-look-at-the-irs-direct-file-pilot.
[5] Office, U.S. Government Accountability. “Federal Government Made $236 Billion ‘Improper Payments’ Last Fiscal Year.” U.S. GAO, May 3, 2024. https://www.gao.gov/blog/federal-government-made-236-billion-improper-payments-last-fiscal-year.
[6] G, C. “Doge Can Save Taxpayers $60+ Billion by Targeting DOD Waste • Stimson Center.” Stimson Center, January 27, 2025. https://www.stimson.org/2025/doge-can-save-taxpayers-60-billion-by-targeting-dod-waste/.
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