Since his frosty January inauguration, President Donald Trump has quickly made use of his regained presidential powers, already signing 73 executive orders. The orders range in topic and purpose; however, Executive Order 14158 in particular has caused more of a stir than the others. Executive Order 14158 or “Establishing And Implementing The President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’” has sparked major controversy amongst voters and politicians alike due to its creation of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with the express purpose to cut federal spending.
WHAT IS DOGE?
In November, President Trump introduced The Department of Government Efficiency originally to be led by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy with the aim of reducing federal spending by cutting expenditures through the “[modernization of] Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
WHAT HAS ‘DOGE’ DONE?
Using its newfound power, DOGE has already boasted to have saved the federal government 105 billion dollars through the cutting of various expenditures such as contracts, federal jobs, and selling of federal property. DOGE publicly lists some of its budget cuts, representing a self-reported 30% of savings, adhering to Elon Musk’s claims of DOGE “trying to be as transparent as possible.” The website includes the “Wall of Receipts”, displaying thousands of cut contracts, Department rankings from most to least budget cuts and a tracker of federal expenditure by department and percentage totals of both total spending and national debt changes. However, in response to critics disputing their savings claims, DOGE admitted that “there are likely some errors or omissions.”
EARLY CONTROVERSY
In theory a program dedicated to saving money would have bipartisan support; however, in light of questionable accounting practices and a mysterious high-profile exit, DOGE has faced heavy scrutiny from the left, and the broader American public.
Ramaswamy Exit
The first sign of turmoil was the almost immediate and rather inexplicable removal of Vivek Ramaswamy from his leadership position. Ramaswamy’s post on X, formerly known as Twitter, criticizing decades of “American culture [that] venerated mediocrity over excellence” and “native” born Americans was not well received within Republican circles. According to an anonymous Republican strategist close to Trump, “everyone [wanted Ramaswamy] out of Mar-a-Lago, out of D.C.” Following his quiet exit Ramaswamy now plans to run for governor of Ohio.
Data Privacy Lawsuits
The nature of DOGE’s work has caused sweeping concerns about data privacy, resulting in “at least 11 lawsuits that claim DOGE has illegally accessed significant swaths of Americans’ personal information.”
One of the major battlegrounds of DOGE’s information access is IRS tax data, which Nina Olson, a career National Taxpayer Advocate with the IRS, claims is “very personal.” Olson explains that tax data isn’t just money, it’s “your family structure. It’s your income from all sorts of sources. It’s all sorts of deductions. It’s your health information.”
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is headed by the plaintiffs Center for Taxpayer Rights and The National Federation of Federal Employees names the IRS, Treasury Department, and leadership figures from both departments. The lawsuit alleges “that DOGE’s access to IRS systems has harmed their constituents’ privacy interests and exposed their private information to heightened risks” with the plaintiffs seeking “a temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the illegality of the Defendants’ actions.”
This case is incredibly vital to DOGE’s future with the decision ultimately making or breaking the future of DOGE, either curtailing its reach, or setting privacy precedents that will empower DOGE to reach further into the depths of American spending.
THE FUTURE OF DOGE
Up to time of writing, DOGE continues its operations in the name of rooting out excess spending within the US government. However, the deeper DOGE looks, the more controversy compounds.
DOGE faces rooted opposition from Democrats, political action groups, and a large portion of the American public, yet it is important to remember that DOGE also has strong support notably from President Donald Trump and a Republican majority in both the House and Senate.
Regardless of support, DOGE’s future now rests in the courts as the fledgling department finds itself in the spotlight of a bitter and growing legal battle over the legality of its mission.
No doubt DOGE’s exploits will continue to dominate headlines.
