What is Doge and why the musk is cutting so many jobs?

A new advisory body created by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and led by the richest man in the world has had the task of reducing the government’s government jobs and other expenses.

Elon Musk is leading this effort to drastically reduce the federal workforce and eliminate what he sees how the money of the taxpayers who wasted.

But his government efficiency department (Doge) has found legal obstacles, accusations of conflicts of interest and fears that cause serious damage.

Explaining their actions to journalists in the Oval office, Musk defended his plans and denied the affirmation of rival democrats that he embodied a “hostile acquisition” of the government.

Surveys suggest that cutting government expenditure has broad support.

Despite its full name, Dege is not an official government department, which would have had to be established by an act of Congress.

Instead, it arose through one of Trump’s presidential executive orders, and operates as an advisory agency with at least four employees dedicated to each government agency.

Part of Doge’s mission, says the order, is related to IT updates aimed at increasing efficiency. You must finish your work in July 2026.

Many of Doge staff seem to be young with technological history. They include an employee who resigned after being linked to a racist social media account, Who was coupled promised to return.

Yes. Although Musk initially said he would play his role as an external volunteer, the White House then said he was operating as a special non -remunerated employee of the government.

This designation is officially defined as those working for the government for 130 days or less in a year.

For some followers of this new body, the state of Doge Outsider, as well as its mandate somewhat vague, will serve as a benefit.

“They are a little more without ties to the bureaucracy itself and with the systems that slow down the processes here,” said Republican Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota to the BBC. “I think the lack of parameters is part of what will make them effective.”

Its mission, says Musk, is saving money to taxpayers and reducing the national debt of the United States, which is $ 36tn (£ 28.9tn).

Initially he said he hoped to save up to $ 2TN a year, but then tempered this estimate.

Musk has said that he wants to end the “tyranny of bureaucracy”, which describes as a fourth branch of the government that works against Trump’s agenda. Critics of their work see a simpler ideological motivation at stake.

“They will not go into agencies that are doing things that they like. They go to the agencies with which they disagree,” News News Douglas Holz-Eeakin, former republican director of the Congress Budget Office (CBO ).

It is not clear how much money you have saved Doge so far, although its X account offers regular celebration updates about what they say they have been reduced. Among his holders are:

• Doge representatives that enter several departments to monitor the expense. Trump says they have identified “fraud and abuse”, without giving evidence
• As part of a war against “Awakening” policies, Musk said his team “had saved taxpayers to more than $ 1 billion in Locos dei contracts (diversity, equity and inclusion)”
• Taking an Ax for Usaid, the main foreign aid organization in the United States that finances projects in dozens of countries, which both men call a waste
• Make a purchase offer to two million government employees to try to reduce the size of the federal workforce
• Trying to take control and possibly close, the consumer financial protection office (CFPB). This was created to protect consumers after the 2007-2008 financial crisis, but the Republicans accused of extralimitation

Doge enjoys broad popular support, a survey by the US BBC partner, CBS News, has suggested.

This indicated that most Americans, especially Republican voters, supported their work, even if they did not agree on how much influence should Musk personally.

The size of the permanent workforce currently exceeds two million and one of the greatest increases was in 2023, in part due to the large investment by the Biden administration in infrastructure projects.

David Ditch, a senior analyst at the Center for Economic Policies Innovation, a group of conservative experts, says Doge’s work is needed.

“They are shining a very bright focus on various parts of the federal government and ask, if it is the American public, if they are moderate members of the Republican Caucus: is it like that you want the US tax dollars to be used?”

Political opponents and government guards accuse Lege of acting without transparency and disseminating erroneous information about government spending, and accusing Musk of exceeding his authority as an unded official.

Critics highlight the possible conflicts of interest of Musk, given the billions in the contracts that their businesses have with the United States government. Trump and Musk deny that any problem arises.

Multiple groups, including state unions and general prosecutors, have already sued Doge’s broader administration of Trump for their plans, and the Democrats accuse them of manipulating the financing approved by the Congress that is beyond the reach of the president. The White House denies that the work has violated the laws.

Several times, the courts have intervened to stop cost reduction movements, at least once blocking Dogs directly when a judge that prevents the agency from accessing personal data maintained within the United States Treasury records.

When talking with journalists in the Oval office, Musk said he hoped to be examined for his work, but insisted that the Americans had voted for government reform of “common sense.”

But experts question if they can promulgate their bold promises.

Elaine Kamark, a leading member of government studies at Brookings Institution, told the BBC that the efforts to rationalize government spending “can be done”, highlighting his own work for President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

But he described Musk’s idea of ​​cutting a third of the “ridiculous” government spending, since much of the budget was mandatory, including popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

With additional reports by Jessica Parker and Cai Pigliucci