(WASHINGTON) — Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency group has made swift work of the billionaire’s goal to scale back or dismantle much of the federal government, end diversity policies and otherwise further President Donald Trump’s agenda.
DOGE employees, many of whom have no government experience, have been going through data systems, shutting down DEI programs and in some cases, whole agencies.
The White House and Republicans have claimed, without citing details, that DOGE is accountable to the president and will be kept away from conflicts of interest. Musk, though, according to lawmakers and attorneys representing federal workers, has violated laws, union agreements and civil service protections.
Trump has repeatedly backed Musk.
“Elon is doing a great job, he’s finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste,” he told reporters Friday.
One DOGE member, Marko Elez, resigned on Feb. 6 amid reports linking him to an account that allegedly posted racist comments.
The next day Musk sent a poll to his X followers asking if the employee should be reinstated and later claimed he would return but did not provide further details. Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance also attacked the female Wall Street Journal reporter who discovered the posts.
Congressional Democrats have staged protests outside affected agencies, tried to enter them but were prevented from doing so by DOGE and Trump officials, and attempted to issue a congressional subpoena for Musk but were blocked by Republicans.
At the same time, opponents have had success fighting Musk’s and DOGE’s moves in the courts, with judges stopping some of DOGE’s orders.
Here is some of what’s known about the DOGE efforts since Trump was sworn in, although there has been little transparency about Musk’s efforts.
Federal government wide
On Jan. 8, the administration sent out buyout offers to over 2 million federal workers, including employees in the CIA.
On Feb. 5, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. temporarily blocked the offer and extended the deadline to Feb. 10 following lawsuit filed by federal workers’ unions.
NOAA
At least one member of DOGE entered the Department of Commerce — the agency that houses NOAA, the federal agency responsible for forecasting the weather, researching and analyzing climate and weather data and monitoring and tracking extreme weather events like hurricanes. That person was granted access to NOAA’s IT systems, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on Feb. 5.
DOGE members accessed computer systems to search for staff and data related to diversity programs.
USAID
Musk announced on Feb. 2 that he was going to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.
The agency’s website was shut down prior to his announcement, leaving many aid groups and American aid workers abroad in the dark about their programs and future.
A lawsuit was filed on Feb. 6 to prevent the move a day before USAID workers were forced to face being forced from their jobs. A day later Judge Carl J. Nichols, a Trump-nominated federal judge, said announced a temporary restraining order that prevents Trump and the DOGE from placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave.
FAA
The Department of Transportation and Musk announced on Feb. 5 that he had access to Federal Aviation Administration technologies to make “rapid safety upgrades,” the billionaire said on X.
Treasury
The Treasury Department gave Musk and DOGE access to the vast federal payment system responsible for handling trillions of dollars in government expenditures.
However, after three federal unions filed a lawsuit against the move, a federal judge ordered on Feb. 5 that read-only data be given to two DOGE employees.
One of those employees was Elez, who resigned from his post a day later.
On Feb. 8, a New York federal judge granted the states suing over DOGE a temporary restraining order that blocked DOGE from accessing taxpayer records, including the Social Security numbers and bank account information of millions of Americans.
Department of Education
DOGE gained access to the Department of Education, which Trump has vowed to dismantle despite such an action needing congressional approval, according to Democratic leaders.
Senate Democrats said Friday they launched an investigation into reports that DOGE gained access to federal student loan data.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
