Will the Department of Government Efficiency Work?
Bureaucrats and citizens weigh in on whether the ambitious plan to slash federal spending is destined for success — or doomed to fail.
Skepticism isn’t unique among federal employees confronting president-elect Donald Trump's latest venture: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — an acronym that also nods to Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency. The initiative, announced with characteristic Trumpian flourish, pairs Musk with entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in what the incoming administration calls a “Manhattan Project” of government reform.
The comparison to the atomic bomb program might be more apt than intended. DOGE, too, promises to alter the landscape fundamentally. Unlike the Manhattan Project, however, its ambit isn’t a new concept: it aims to eliminate $2 trillion of the government’s $6.75 trillion budget, a figure that some describe as “virtually impossible.”
We spoke with government insiders and U.S. citizens alike to see what they think of DOGE: harebrained or genius?