Latest news with #USDS
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Who will be Elon's successor? The top names in line for DOGE chief
With Elon Musk leaving his role at the White House as head of the Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump saying DOGE's work will continue, the question now in Washington is who will take the reins to become Musk's successor. Musk, who has led Trump's waste-cutting task force from Inauguration Day until now, announced his departure in an X post this week, saying: "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," Musk said the DOGE mission "will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." So, who will take Musk's place? Right now, no one. A senior White House official previously told Fox News Digital that "the DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head." 'American Hero' Or 'Failure': Elon Musk's Doge Departure Divides Capitol Hill Read On The Fox News App The official said DOGE is now part of the "DNA" of the federal government, and that it will keep operating as it already has. Speaking with reporters on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that "the DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president's cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government." These statements cast doubt on whether any singular individual will succeed Musk as the DOGE chief. However, if Trump finds a DOGE successor necessary and decides to shift gears, who could fill Musk's shoes? While Musk was never an official federal employee, Amy Gleason, a little-known government employee who also worked in the first Trump administration, has been serving as the official acting chief of the United States DOGE Service (USDS) since February. Doge Staffing Shakeup As Elon Musk Hangs Up His Hat, White House Confirms If the president decides to steer clear of any public-facing DOGE chief, it seems likely that he will keep Gleason on as a more behind-the-scenes DOGE leader at USDS. Gleason, 53, is a career official who was recognized by the Obama administration as a "champion of change" for her work with several nonprofits researching and raising awareness about a rare autoimmune disorder known as Juvenile Myositis. Gleason previously worked in the first Trump administration in what was then called the U.S. Digital Service before leaving to work at Russell Street Ventures, which was founded by Brad Smith, another DOGE leader. Keeping Gleason on as DOGE chief would allow the president to keep the agency's efforts alive while following the structure of each cabinet head leading their own waste-cutting programs. As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought has already been a central figure in DOGE's waste-cutting efforts. State Dept Says Doge's Changes Will Be Permanent Amid Musk's Departure The Wall Street Journal reported that Vought already has plans to continue Musk's efforts, even in his current role as OMB head. Vought is a close ally of Trump and a much more subdued personality than Musk, making him appear as a likely pick to take over DOGE. However, Vought does come with his own political baggage, with many on the left labeling him a "Christian nationalist" and criticizing his role as a co-author of Project 2025. Still, he was successfully confirmed by the Senate in his current role as OMB director. A one-time GOP presidential candidate-turned key Trump ally, Vivek Ramaswamy, has been widely reported as a top contender to replace Musk at the helm of DOGE. Ramaswamy co-led DOGE alongside Musk for a short period at the start of Trump's second term. However, he stepped down from his DOGE leadership role in February to begin his run for Ohio governor. Though Ramaswamy shares Musk's and Trump's vision for cutting government waste, it would seem unlikely he would rejoin the DOGE team any time soon with his eyes on winning the keys to the Ohio governor's mansion in article source: Who will be Elon's successor? The top names in line for DOGE chief
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
What is DOGE? Exploring its journey and the impact of Elon Musk's exit
'It is probably the Manhattan Project of our time,' U.S President Donald Trump said as he announced the creation of DOGE- The Department of Government Efficiency- under Elon Musk's leadership. As Elon Musk steps away from DOGE, announcing his departure via X, we examine the DOGE journey so far. To “implement the President's DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.â€� And at its helm, in effect - Elon Musk, the world's richest man. The DOGE service has a USDS Administrator reporting to the White House Chief of Staff- subsequent reports have identified the acting administrator to be Amy Gleason.(Not who was designated a special government employee.) Additionally, the order established the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, 'to advance the President’s 18 month DOGE agenda,' with a termination date of July 4, 2026. It was this unknown entity which was converted into the United States DOGE Service with the signing of the executive order on January 20, 2025. Its mission statement: to use design and technology to deliver better services to the American people. It collaborated with public servants across agencies to improve critical services, for example, offering better user design for the Social Security Administration website. The United States Digital Service, a small technological unit within the Executive Office of the President, was created in 2014 to help streamline government services. These teams were to include, at the very least, one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. each agency head was directed to establish a DOGE team with four employees, selected in consultation with the USDS administrator. Click on each of the photos of the employees shown below to know more about them DOGE has not been very forthcoming about its employees, and works without Congressional oversight. However, recent media investigations have revealed several of the key figures in the shadowy DOGE ecosystem, which is structured quite unlike other federal agencies, whether now or in the past. On March 11, Musk said he planned to double the size of his staff in DOGE, from the current 100-odd to 200. Which was then further reduced to $1 trillion (around 14.8% of the government's expenditure) Before Trump's inauguration, Musk promised the American public cuts of $2 trillion, which accounts for roughly 29.6% of the US Government's expenditure in fiscal year 2024 (cuts shown in the graphic are for reference.) In 2024, discretionary spending formed $1.8T, which is around 26.4% of the total. It is discretionary funding unrelated to military, immigration enforcement (and other heads specified via an executive order) which DOGE has chiefly targeted. Most of these DOGE cuts have come from non-military discretionary spendings. Broadly, the U.S federal budget is divided into 3 sections: mandatory (outlays for benefit programmes mandated by law-- like social security), discretionary (those Congress can earmark for a purpose through the budget or legislation), and interest. It has slashed DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility) programmes across departments, nixed most of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), cancelled grants pertaining to climate change and health and targeted the Department of Education- just some of many of its slash-and-burn actions. The Department of Government Efficiency says it is achieving its goals through eight measures: fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancellations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes and regulatory savings. The following graphic shows the major cuts (in contracts and grants) which took place across different departments and agencies, as per DOGE's website as of April 20, 2025. Layoffs The strength of the federal government, excluding military personnel, is around 2.4 million. Recent reports indicate that at least 12% of this has been cut. At least 140,000 more reductions are planned. For example, DOGE plans to cut down at least 90% of staff at the Social Security Administration. There are also reports that a Workforce Reshaping tool- a revamped version of a formerly developed Automated Reduction in Force (AutoRIF) tool- may be used to automate the process of cuts. Explore the layoffs by date below: Layoffs also took place at the following agencies on these dates, but the specifics remain unascertained. As of May 1, 2025, at least 1,400 had been laid off from the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) according to a report by Politico E&E In the near future, further layoffs are expected in multiple agencies. An April 22 report said that 15% of the staff at unspecified agencies in the Department of State are at risk of losing their jobs. The 20 agencies or departments where highest number of employees were laid off are as follows: Several of those laid off were probationary employees, terminated before their probations were up (some were reinstated by court orders). In February, Office of Personnel Management targeted all 220,000 probationary employees who were part of the federal government. In addition to this, federal employees across agencies received “fork-in-the-roadâ€� emails offering them the option to resign and receive full pay for a specified period. For example, everyone at the CIA was offered the chance to resign. More than 75,000 people have reportedly taken these buyouts. At least one-quarter of the 100,000 initially fired workers have been rehired at full pay, most of them after judges ruled that their firings were illegal. Some were rehired after it was found that DOGE had “accidentallyâ€� fired workers responsible for nuclear weapons safety and aviation safety, and researchers involved in the response to bird flu and Ebola. DOGE’s actions were met with resistanceâ€' even internally. On February 27, 21 DOGE employees reportedly resigned in protest, writing in an anonymous letter that they would not use their skills as technologists 'to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans' sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services.' Their concerns about data stemmed from DOGE employees seeking- and obtaining- access to tranches of sensitive data, some of which was usually given to officials with high security clearance, often on a need-to-know basis. Legal challenges Around 200 lawsuits and appeals have been filed against actions taken by the Trump administration, and around 30 implicate DOGE. Some of these deal with the status of DOGE, questioning Mr Musk’s position in the government and the constitutional basis for the creation of the department. One of these - J. Does v. Musk â€' has been filed by state attorneys general and retired government officials, and alleges that Mr. Musk’s role required confirmation by the Senate, given the authority he was wielding. A multi-State suit â€' New Mexico v. Musk â€' raises similar contentions. The lack of transparency has given rise to lawsuits alleging violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of Interior, Public Citizen v. Trump). A protestor waves an inverted American flag, known as a symbol of distress, at City Hall during a Hands Off! protest in Los Angeles, California on April 5, suits have questioned the dismantling of agencies or their boards by DOGE. Brehm v. Marocco deals with the shuttering of the African Development Foundation, while at least two suits relate to the actions taken by DOGE at the United States Institute of Peace (Pippenger v. DOGE, United States Institute of Peace v. Kenneth Jackson). The decision in the second lawsuit, ruling that DOGE’s actions at USIP were unlawful , has been appealed. Layoffs and cuts have also been challenged in court. A Maryland judge ruled on March 13 that the government should rehire probationary employees who were fired without cause (in State of Maryland v. United States Department of Agriculture ), but this has been appealed by the government. Some complaints are making their way through administrative bodies which serve appellatory functions. Several citizen organisations and non-profits all came together in Japanese American Citizens League v. Musk , alleging that DOGE and Musk's actions were ultra vires the constitution and causing harm to the public. Actions cited by them included the firing of federal employees in departments such as the Department of Education and National Park Service, and the cutting of funding for scientific research. The biggest tranche of suits involving DOGE perhaps is those alleging violation of privacy laws by permitting access to sensitive government information such as social security numbers and tax information. This includes those brought by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the American Federation of Teachers. On March 20, a temporary restraining order blocked DOGE from accessing social security records. Conflicts of interest A major concern about DOGE raised by detractors was the fact that Mr. Musk may have several conflicts of interests in his role, as a technocrat with multiple government contracts. Over the years, Musk’s business has benefitted from at least $38 billion in funding from the US government, in the form of government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax creditsâ€' particularly those aimed at boosting the electric vehicle industry. Some of these contracts are ongoing. For example, SpaceX has multiple contracts with several US departments, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense and NASA. It has been developing spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, which comes under the ambit of the Pentagon. It continues to participate in bids for government contracts: a Washington Post article reported that internet satellite service Starlink, which comes under SpaceX, and Verizon were in competition for a $2.4 billion FAA contract. Demonstrators protest against Elon Musk and Department of Government Efficiency cuts outside a Tesla dealership, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo) DOGE cuts may also, directly or indirectly, aid Mr. Musk’s businesses. For example, the EPA, which saw major reductions and cuts, has in the past cited Tesla for hazardous waste mismanagement and pollution. A division in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which saw cuts was tasked with the oversight of autonomous vehiclesâ€' a major component of Tesla’s business. The now-dismantled USAID had been investigating government ties with Starlink. Some employees at the Food and Drug Administration who had been reviewing Mr. Musk’s neurotech company Neuralink had been firedâ€' and later rehired DOGE’s access to sensitive data, including those pertaining to labour, was another issue. Elon Musk is, or was, a special government employee. Such employees are subject to relaxed financial reporting and conflict of interest laws such as the Ethics in Government Act and criminal conflict of interest provisions. Additionally, the White House informed the press that Mr. Musk would police his own conflicts of interest. There is a dearth of oversight particularly after the widespread layoffs. In early February, Mr. Trump fired the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, the department that would oversee potential conflicts of interest. And in January, he had fired 17 Inspectors-General, who perform a watchdog function for various departments. Protests Several anti-government protests have taken place across the United States since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. This includes Hands Off rallies protesting administration policies and planned events under the 50501 movement â€' a decentralized campaign that began on Reddit and got its name from a February 5 push for '50 protests in 50 states in 1 day.' Protesters attend a Hands Off rally to demonstrate against U.S. President Donald Trump near the Washington Monument on the National Mall on April 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo bySome protests and criticisms have expressly targeted Elon Musk and his involvement with DOGE. In a poll released in May, 58% of those surveyed said they disapproved of how Mr. Musk was handling DOGE’s work, and 60% disapproved of Mr. Musk himself. He demonstrated a net favourability rating of -14.4 in another poll released on May the dismantling of USAID, Mr Musk was criticised by fellow billionaire Bill Gates. 'The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,' Mr. Gates said in an interview with The New York Times. Along with Democrats, Republicans too have expressed reservations over the speed and scale of DOGE’s work. 'These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages ... It's a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well,' Senator John Curtis (R-Utah), is reported to have said. Tesla itself has borne the brunt of anti-Musk sentiments. Several Tesla locations have seen anti-Musk demonstrations, with slogans like “Musk Must Goâ€� and “Block Fascism Now.â€� Tesla cybertrucks and charging stations have also been destroyed, in cities like Seattle and Boston. A website called DOGEQUEST was created to pinpoint owners of Tesla and their addresses, specifically to target them. The public ire has also translated to a poor performance for Tesla on the stock market. Reports indicate that, at one point, share prices dropped by 71% post the Presidential election. On May 28, Tesla's stock prices were $356.9, which was just over 16% less than its price when assumed office. Tesla investors such as Ross Gerber, a wealth manager and longtime Tesla supporter, criticised Musk’s government role, and in April, Mr. Musk assured his investors that he would significantly scale back his government responsibilities to focus on his corporate ones. This is even as some media outlets reported that it would be difficult to see DOGE cuts pass muster in Congress. The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorised spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE’s cuts, The end of the road for Musk? On March 27, Elon Musk said he was disappointed by the 'big, beautiful bill' mooted by President Donald Trump and passed by House Republicans last week. The Bill is yet to pass in the Senate. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Mr. Musk said in an interview with CBS News. In a post on X on May 29, he announced his departure:
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to exempt DOGE from FOIA requests
May 21 (UPI) -- The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block proceedings on a case looking to get information on the Department of Government Efficiency. In an application to stay the orders of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking documents about DOGE under the Freedom of Information Act, Solicitor General John Sauer wrote that DOGE is exempt from such requests. "The U.S. DOGE Service is a presidential advisory body within the Executive Office of the President. The President, in various executive orders, has tasked USDS with providing recommendations to him and to federal agencies on policy matters that the President has deemed important to his agenda," Sauer wrote. "Given those advisory functions, USDS is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act." The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, filed a lawsuit against DOGE in February, which described DOGE as "a cadre of largely unidentified actors, whose status as government employees is unclear, controlling major government functions with no oversight." The CREW suit asked for DOGE to comply with its FOIA requests "and promptly disclose the requested records." The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. ordered in May that DOGE must provide the requested information. CREW responded to the request from Sauer to the Supreme Court with a statement Wednesday that said "While DOGE continues to attempt to fight transparency at every level of justice, we look forward to making our case that the Supreme Court should join the District Court and Court of Appeals in allowing discovery to go forward."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt discovery in DOGE case
The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to halt discovery in a lawsuit seeking access to documents and information about the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) operations. The emergency application asks the justices to lift a judge's order allowing limited discovery into whether DOGE is an 'agency,' which would make it subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in the application that DOGE, also referenced in filings as the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS), is a 'presidential advisory body' within the Executive Office of the President — not an agency — and thus exempt from FOIA, which lets the public request information from the government. 'Yet the district court below ordered USDS to submit to sweeping, intrusive discovery just to determine if USDS is subject to FOIA in the first place,' Sauer wrote. 'That order turns FOIA on its head, effectively giving respondent a win on the merits of its FOIA suit under the guise of figuring out whether FOIA even applies.' The lower court's order allowed discovery about DOGE employees and all 'recommendations' it has made to various agencies, in addition to other internal documents. It also ordered a deposition of the body's head, Amy Gleason, who is acting administrator of DOGE. Sauer said allowing the 'intrusive' discovery process to move forward might threaten the 'confidentiality and candor' of DOGE's advice to President Trump. 'Nullifying FOIA's solicitude for presidential advisors and ordering roving discovery into their recommendations and advice represents an untenable affront to the separation of powers,' the solicitor general said. The government's request to the Supreme Court comes on the heels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision last week to allow the discovery process to move forward. A three-judge panel on the federal appeals court called the discovery 'modest in scope' and noted it does not target Trump. The government can still raise privilege objections on a question-by-question basis as the process moves forward, they said. The executive branch tech office U.S. Digital Service was overtaken by DOGE staffers earlier this year after Trump entered office. Gleason, the acting administrator of DOGE, previously worked for the tech unit. Billionaire tech leader Elon Musk has been the face of DOGE in the early months of Trump's presidency while serving as a special government employee. Musk has signaled recently he plans to focus more on his businesses moving forward. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed suit against DOGE in February, claiming that the public has a right to see behind the veil of its 'secretive operations.' The Supreme Court requested a response from the group by Friday. It's one of several lawsuits designed to test the Trump administration's argument that DOGE is not subject to FOIA requests. Dozens of other lawsuits challenge DOGE's access to confidential systems at federal agencies. Updated at 2:00 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
UPI
21-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to exempt DOGE from FOIA requests
May 21 (UPI) -- The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block proceedings on a case looking to get information on the Department of Government Efficiency. In an application to stay the orders of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking documents about DOGE under the Freedom of Information Act, Solicitor General John Sauer wrote that DOGE is exempt from such requests. "The U.S. DOGE Service is a presidential advisory body within the Executive Office of the President. The President, in various executive orders, has tasked USDS with providing recommendations to him and to federal agencies on policy matters that the President has deemed important to his agenda," Sauer wrote. "Given those advisory functions, USDS is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act." The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, filed a lawsuit against DOGE in February, which described DOGE as "a cadre of largely unidentified actors, whose status as government employees is unclear, controlling major government functions with no oversight." The CREW suit asked for DOGE to comply with its FOIA requests "and promptly disclose the requested records." The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. ordered in May that DOGE must provide the requested information. CREW responded to the request from Sauer to the Supreme Court with a statement Wednesday that said "While DOGE continues to attempt to fight transparency at every level of justice, we look forward to making our case that the Supreme Court should join the District Court and Court of Appeals in allowing discovery to go forward."
