It’s Closing Time for DOGE, Initiative Winds Down With Expiration of Charter | The Well News

WASHINGTON — The Department of Government Efficiency, informally known as DOGE, is officially a thing of the past, having formally ceased operations when its charter expired on July 4.

Launched with great fanfare on the very first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, the agency was intended to slash the cost of government by dramatically reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.

In signing the executive order setting the effort into motion, Trump named billionaire Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramasamy to lead the initiative, though Ramasamy quickly left to run for governor of Ohio.

He clinched the Republican nomination in May and will face Democratic candidate Amy Acton in the general election in November.

Musk himself ended his tenure as head of the DOGE and stepped away from the Trump administration when his 130-day term as a Special Government Employee ended in May 2025. He transitioned out of the official role to refocus on his corporate responsibilities.

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk thanked Trump for the opportunity to help run the department and predicted its mission would “only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

His assertion did not prove prescient.

By the end of the year, the department had largely been disbanded and folded into what remained of the executive bureaucracy it was meant to displace.

In a post on its official X account, an unnamed administrator wrote: “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

“While the formal mission of DOGE has come to an end, the mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse will continue,” the post continued. “Good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and accountable government are not temporary initiatives. We hope those principles endure long into America’s next 250 years.

“It has been our greatest honor to serve the American people. Happy 4th,” it ended. 

During the House Appropriations oversight hearing earlier this month, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said there will not be a closing report of the agency’s financial achievements, but defended DOGE, saying it made important strides for government efficiency. 

“The fruits of their labor are sprinkled all across the government,” he said.

On Musk’s watch the agency’s initial goal was to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, a target that was later reduced to just over $1 trillion.

In the end, DOGE itself would claim to have achieved roughly $215 billion in savings, equivalent to $1,335.40 per taxpayer, though even that figure remains in dispute in some quarters.

All told, more than 260,000 federal employees left the government last year as a result of DOGE-led initiatives.

The departments of Agriculture, Defense, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs saw the highest number of departures under the program.

Since then, some agencies have resumed hiring, acknowledging they cut too many staff members.

During the House hearing, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., criticized the agency’s drastic downsizing, saying it eliminated employees who were doing great work.

“They didn’t know what they were talking about when they advocated for those cuts,” Ivey said. 

Despite the program’s critics, the White House this week praised the administration’s efforts to cut government spending through DOGE.

“President Trump was given a clear mandate to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to Politico.

 “He has made significant progress in making the federal government more efficient to better serve the American taxpayer,” Ingle added.

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