An unpaid group of billionaires, tech executives and some disciples of Peter Thiel, a powerful Republican donor, are preparing to take unofficial positions in the US government in the name of cost-cutting.
As President-elect Donald J. Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency prepares for the battle against “wasteful” spending, it prepares to send individuals with ties to its co-leaders, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to agencies the entire federal government.
After Inauguration Day, the group of wide-eyed, Silicon Valley-influenced recruits will be arrayed in the alphabet soup of Washington agencies. The goal is for most major agencies to eventually have two DOGE representatives as they try to cut costs like Musk did with X, his social media platform.
This story is based on interviews with about a dozen people who have in-depth insight into DOGE’s operations. They spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
On the eve of Trump’s presidency, the DOGE structure is still amorphous and tightly controlled. Those involved in the operation say secrecy and avoiding leaks are key and much of the communication is conducted on Signal, the encrypted messaging app.
Trump said the effort would lead to “drastic change” and that the entity would provide outside advice on how to cut wasteful spending. The DOGE himself will not have the power to cut spending: that authority rests with Congress. Instead, it is expected to make recommendations on programs and other areas to cut.
But some parts of the operation are becoming clear: Many of the executives involved expect to do voluntary six-month stints within the federal government before returning to their high-paying jobs. Mr Musk said they would not be paid – a deal-breaker for some tech executives originally interested – and was asked to work 80 hours a week. Some, including perhaps Musk, will be so-called special government employees, a specific category of temporary workers who can only work for the federal government for 130 days or fewer in a 365-day period.
Representatives will largely be stationed within federal agencies. After some consideration by senior officials, it is now unlikely that DOGE itself will be established as an organized or non-profit external entity. Instead, it is likely to exist more as a brand for an interconnected group of aspiring leaders who participate in joint group chats and share loyalty to Musk or Ramaswamy.
“The cynics among us will say, ‘Oh, it’s the naive billionaires entering the fray.’ But the other side will say this is a service to the nation that we saw more typically around the time of the nation’s founding,” said Trevor Traina, an entrepreneur who worked in the first Trump administration with associates who considered the idea to join the DOGE.
“The friends I know have great lives,” Traina said, “and they agreed to work for free for six months, leave their families and roll up their sleeves to try to really change things. You can view it both ways.
DOGE leaders told others that the minority of people not assigned to agencies would be housed within the Executive Office of the President at the United States Digital Service, created in 2014 by former President Barack Obama to “change the our government’s approach to technology.”
DOGE is expected to have an office in the Office of Management and Budget, and officials have also considered forming a think tank outside of government in the future.
Musk’s friends were intimately involved in choosing the people who will be assigned to various agencies. Those who conducted interviews for DOGE include Silicon Valley investors Marc Andreessen, Shaun Maguire, Baris Akis and others who have a personal connection to Mr. Musk. Some of those who received the Thiel Fellowship, a prestigious scholarship funded by Thiel and awarded to those who promise to skip or drop out of college to become entrepreneurs, are involved in programming and operations for DOGE. Brokering the presentation of Musk or Ramaswamy, or their closest circles, was a key way to select leaders for deployment.
That’s how Loom co-founder Vinay Hiremath said he got involved with DOGE in a rare public statement from someone who worked with the entity. In a post this month on his personal blog, Mr. Hiremath described the work DOGE employees did before deciding not to move to Washington to join the entity.
“After 8 calls with people who spoke fast and seemed very intelligent, I was added to numerous Signal groups and immediately got to work,” he wrote. “The next 4 weeks of my life consisted of hundreds of calls to recruit the smartest people I’ve ever spoken to, working on various projects I definitely can’t talk about, and learning how completely dysfunctional the government was. It was fantastic.
These recruits are assigned to specific agencies in which they are deemed to have expertise. A few other DOGE subscribers have come to Musk and Ramaswamy’s attention via X. In recent weeks, the DOGE account on office like human resources.
The DOGE team, including paid engineers, largely work in a glass building in SpaceX’s downtown office, located a few blocks from the White House. Some people close to Ramaswamy and Musk hope that these DOGE engineers can use artificial intelligence to find cost-cutting opportunities.
The broader effort is being run by two people with completely different backgrounds: One is Brad Smith, a healthcare entrepreneur and former top health official in Trump’s first White House, close to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. . Mr Smith has effectively managed DOGE during the transition period, with a focus on recruitment, particularly for workers who will be placed in the agencies.
Mr. Smith worked closely with Steve Davis, a Musk aide of two decades who was widely seen as Musk’s representative on all issues. Davis joined Musk as he calls experts with questions about the federal budget, for example.
Others involved include Matt Luby, Mr. Ramaswamy’s chief of staff and childhood friend; Joanna Wischer, Trump campaign official; and Rachel Riley, a McKinsey partner who works closely with Mr. Smith.
Mr. Musk’s personal attorney – Chris Gober – and Mr. Ramaswamy’s personal attorney – Steve Roberts – explored various legal issues regarding DOGE’s structure. James Burnham, a former Justice Department official, is also helping DOGE with legal matters. Bill McGinley, Trump’s initial pick as White House counsel who was instead named legal counsel for DOGE, played a more minimal role.
“DOGE will be a cornerstone of the new administration, helping President Trump realize his vision of a new gilded age,” said James Fishback, founder of Azoria, an investment firm and Ramaswamy confidant who will provide outside advice for DOGE.
Despite all this firepower, many budget experts have been deeply skeptical of the effort and its cost-cutting ambitions. Musk initially said the effort could lead to “at least $2 trillion” in cuts to the $6.75 trillion federal budget. But budget experts say the goal would be difficult to reach without cutting popular programs like Social Security and Medicare, which Trump has promised not to cut.
Both Musk and Ramaswamy also reframed the meaning of success. Ramaswamy highlighted DOGE-led deregulation on
And in an interview last week with Mark Penn, president and CEO of Stagwell, a marketing firm, Musk downplayed the potential total savings.
“We’ll try with $2 trillion — I think that’s the best outcome,” Musk said. “You kind of have to have a little bit of surplus. I think if we try to win two trillion, we have a good chance of getting one.”