The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has ceased to exist eight months before the end of its term, as reported by Reuters, citing the director of the personnel management Scott Cooper.
Cooper confirmed that the department no longer exists, adding that it is no longer a "centralized structure."
According to Reuters, many of DOGE's tasks have been transferred to the personnel management office, which is the human resources agency of the federal government. Two "notable employees" of DOGE now work at the National Design Studio, established at Trump's initiative in August. They have been tasked with "beautifying" government websites.
Reuters also notes that these are the first official statements from the Trump administration regarding the closure of DOGE, although since the summer, the president and his team have hinted that the department had effectively ceased to exist. Early in his presidency, Trump signed an order requiring DOGE to operate until July 2026. In conversations with journalists, Trump often mentions DOGE in the past tense, Reuters points out.
The Department of Government Efficiency began its activities after Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. It was conceived as an agency responsible for optimizing spending and increasing the efficiency of the U.S. government. Elon Musk, who led DOGE, called it a "chainsaw for bureaucracy" and actively promoted it on his social media.
As a result of the department's work, many government employees were laid off, and the agency canceled subscriptions to liberal media outlets such as Politico, Associated Press, and The New York Times. DOGE claimed to have managed to reduce government spending by tens of billions of dollars; however, independent financial experts could not confirm this due to a lack of detailed public reporting on the department's activities.
