Elon Musk’s Cost-Saving Project DOGE for the Trump Administration Quietly Ends Ahead of Schedule

The Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting initiative once led by Elon Musk, has been dissolved eight months earlier than planned, bringing President Donald Trump’s high-profile effort to reduce the size and spending of the federal government to a close.

Reuters reports that Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor said DOGE “doesn’t exist” anymore and is no longer operating as a centralized body. That’s despite an executive order Trump signed earlier in his term stating the program would run through July 2026.

DOGE moved quickly to reshape federal operations, primarily through staffing reductions and aggressive spending cuts. Trump described its mission as creating “a smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy.” Kupor told Reuters that many of DOGE’s responsibilities have now been absorbed by OPM, which serves as the government’s main human-resources agency.

Two former high-profile DOGE figures — including Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia — have reportedly shifted to the National Design Studio, a newer agency Trump established by executive order in August to modernize and improve government websites.

From the start of Trump’s second term through May, Musk served as a White House adviser overseeing DOGE and spearheaded its push for deep reductions in programs and personnel the administration viewed as unnecessary. DOGE itself was previously known as the United States Digital Service (USDS), created during Barack Obama’s presidency to modernize federal technology systems.

DOGE claimed it had cut tens of billions of dollars in government expenditures, though those figures were not independently verified and the program did not release detailed public accounting.

In February, Musk signaled the initiative’s combative posture when he appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, lifting a chainsaw overhead and calling it “the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”

“President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Reuters.

One of DOGE’s signature moves was a freeze on federal hiring. On Trump’s first day back in office, he directed agencies to stop bringing on new employees, with limited exceptions for immigration and public safety roles. Kupor said that approach has now softened, adding that “there is no target around reductions” anymore.

Earlier this year, more than 20 civil service employees resigned from DOGE in protest. In a joint resignation letter, the group — made up of engineers, data scientists, designers, and product managers — said they would not use their expertise to weaken public services or compromise government systems and sensitive data.

Musk announced his departure from the advisory role on May 28 in an X post.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

His exit came one day after he publicly criticized Trump’s budget agenda, saying he was “disappointed” with the president’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The House passed the bill on May 22. It funds tax cuts and military spending partly by reducing some federal health and energy programs, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated it could add about $3.8 trillion to the national deficit.

Musk has since returned to Washington, D.C., appearing this week at a White House dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman alongside Trump. The two were also seen together at right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sept. 21.