Trump Administration Pushes Back After Reports Claim DOGE Has Disbanded

The Trump administration is pushing back after a Reuters report claimed the Department of Government Efficiency — widely known as DOGE — has effectively disbanded with months still left on the clock for its mandate. Administration officials say the organization no longer operates as a centralized agency, but argue its core mission continues across the federal government.

DOGE was created through a January executive order that restructured the longstanding US Digital Service into the US DOGE Service. The program quickly became one of the most disruptive federal reorganization efforts in recent history, resulting in hundreds of thousands of job departures, widespread contract cancellations and the dismantling of several agencies.

Still, the administration insists DOGE’s goals remain intact. Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, said on X that while centralized leadership has faded, the initiative continues through deregulation, fraud reduction and workforce restructuring. He credited DOGE with launching major changes that other agencies will now “institutionalize.”

Even so, the structure of DOGE today remains unclear. A statement posted on LinkedIn by the US DOGE Service claims President Trump’s original executive order remains in effect. The post said the agency is continuing to help modernize federal technology, though it did not specify how DOGE is staffed or overseen. Acting administrator Amy Gleason, identified only months after the program was launched, directed questions back to the social media statement.

DOGE’s opaque operations have raised confusion since the beginning. Elon Musk, who championed the effort and became its public symbol, was never formally confirmed as a leader of the agency. Many DOGE personnel worked inside agencies under temporary employment limits, and some later moved into permanent roles. At the Social Security Administration, two officials listed as chief information officers were previously identified as DOGE members in court filings.

An Office of Management and Budget report from late September said DOGE still had 45 employees at that time. Whether any remain active today, and who they report to, is unknown.

The program’s online tracker claims DOGE has saved more than $214 billion through contract cancellations, asset sales, workforce reductions and other measures. Those numbers, however, have faced scrutiny from lawmakers and former federal officials who question the accuracy of the methodology.

For now, the administration insists DOGE isn’t gone — even if no one can clearly describe what remains of it.

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