# Department of Government Efficiency entry into US federal buildings

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On January 20, 2025, newly-elected US president Donald Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by executive order, led by businessman Elon Musk and staffed by former or current employees of Musk's business ventures. From then onwards, DOGE employees entered US federal buildings in Washington DC. The events have been described as "takeover", "freeze", or "coup" by members of the Democratic party and media, who claim that the DOGE does not have the authority to carry out these activities. Trump and Republicans argue Musk is acting out campaign promises of government efficiency, and that Musk's powers are limited. Musk says that it is to stop government corruption and waste.

## Background

DOGE has been linked to Trump's campaign promises to cut federal spending and reduce the size of government and the size of the federal fiscal deficit. The concept of DOGE emerged in a discussion between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, where Musk floated the idea of a department for streamlining government efficiency. Musk was named by Trump a "special government employee" that is a temporary position that allows greater access but bypasses some of the discloser obligations required of full time employees.
The DOGE Caucus was co-founded on November 19, 2024. The Senate, Senator created a corresponding Senate DOGE Caucus on November 22, 2024. The House counterpart functions as a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. The caucus is a separate entity from Musk's advisory DOGE department. The caucus is also separate from the DOGE House subcommittee led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

## Parties involved

Musk himself has been present with his team. In January, it was reported that he was sleeping at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He was also seen at the GSA building.
Wired magazine reported that Musk's team includes Riccardo Biasini, a former Tesla engineer; Amanda Scales, who worked at Musk's xAI; and two others that the magazine did not name because of their young ages – one was 21 and the other a teenager. Wired also identified six men aged 19 to 24 who have little to no governmental experience, that are working as engineers within DOGE. The New York Times reported that Brian Bjelde, a SpaceX employee, and Anthony Armstrong, a banker involved in the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, had both been appointed senior directors at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The team has been called "Doge Kids" by some reporters.
After some of those involved in DOGE were identified online, Musk accused those who had posted of breaking the law. Edward Martin, the interim US attorney for Washington D.C. who was appointed by Trump indicated the same day as Musk's comments that he was prepared to prosecute anyone who targeted DOGE employees.

## Events

Musk's team assumed command of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on January 20. They moved sofa beds onto the fifth floor director's office of agency headquarters. Musk's aides locked OPM workers out of computer systems which contain personally identifying information of millions of federal employees. After the takeover of OPM, federal employees across the country received emails asking them to turn in colleagues working on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) to OPM via a "DEIAtruth" email address.
At the end of January, Musk's group took over the General Services Administration (GSA) which manages federal real estate and technology. Wired magazine reported "an effort to use IT credentials from the Executive Office of the President to access GSA laptops and internal GSA infrastructure."
On February 2, it was reported that DOGE personnel attempted to improperly access classified information and security systems at the US Agency for International Development but were thwarted by USAID security officials who were subsequently put on leave. The group moved to dismantle USAID in February. The website was taken offline, staff were fired, and work overseas stopped. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared himself acting administrator of the agency, although it has been an independent body for sixty years.
On Feburary 4, it was reported that DOGE had gained full administrative access to the U.S. Treasury's critical payment systems, raising concerns about financial security and government oversight.

## Analysis

Axios calls the events "Musk's takeover of Washington" and compares them to the events at Twitter, observing concerns about "brain drain" in both cases if highly knowledgeable workers leave. The events were also called a "takeover" by The Economic Times. The Associated Press reports that Musk has "created an alternative power structure" in the government.
The "freeze of government function" was described as a "coup" in the San Francisco Chronicle by Seth Masket, a professor of political science at the University of Denver, because "Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices." He notes that Musk has no role in government and questions the validity of Department of Government Efficiency, which is not a federal executive department, assuming power over established government agencies.
Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy the at University of Michigan, called Musk and DOGE's actions "concerning" and "unprecedented". Moynihan expressed concern that Musk and his group, "not really public officials", had been able to access sensitive government data, and that Congress had very little ability to monitor and intervene.
Nathan Tankus warned that this crisis could destabilize the U.S. economy, urging urgent legal and political action to curb Musk's growing influence over federal financial systems.

## Reactions

When questioned about Musk's abilities and powers within the government, Trump indicated that Musk would only act when directed with approval from the White House.
During a news conference at the Capitol on February 3, Senator Patty Murray, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated that Musk and his team were breaking the law. Murray stated that Musk was an "unelected, unaccountable billionaire with expansive conflicts of interest, deep ties to China" and accused him of hijacking the nation's financial systems and its ability to pay.