Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) is officially operating with the approval of U.S. regulators, but its aggressive cost-cutting tactics are fueling backlash across Washington.
While the administration claims the initiative has uncovered billions in fraudulent government spending, watchdog groups, state officials, and federal employees are now pushing back—some through lawsuits targeting Musk himself.
Watchdogs say D.O.G.E. exposes waste but politicizes the issue
For decades, government oversight experts have warned about waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending, frustrated that Washington has ignored the problem. When President Donald Trump put Elon Musk in charge of fixing it, many hoped this would lead to real accountability. But watchdogs now say D.O.G.E. is creating more problems than solutions.
“Elon Musk is saying we’ve got shocking amounts of fraud, and you’re right, we do. No one’s really cared until now,” said Linda Miller, a fraud prevention expert who previously worked for the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
But Miller and others say Musk’s approach is reckless. One of D.O.G.E.’s first major reports highlighted government-funded arts projects linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, claiming them as examples of wasteful spending. Some of those projects, however, were never actually funded by the agencies Musk accused.
“It makes the government sound like it’s a mockery,” Miller said.
Despite the controversy, Trump is standing by Musk’s efforts, saying at a press briefing this week that D.O.G.E. had already identified ‘billions and billions of dollars’ in fraudulent spending. But the White House did not provide specific numbers to back up that claim.
Musk targets government payments, calls system ‘insane’
One of D.O.G.E.’s biggest targets so far is the “Do Not Pay” system, a federal database meant to block fraudulent payments. The system is supposed to prevent payments to deceased individuals, sanctioned foreign nationals, and people barred from receiving federal funds.
Musk blasted the outdated system in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying the list of ineligible recipients wasn’t updated frequently enough and contained people supposedly still receiving benefits despite being 150 years old.
“There’s crazy things, like, just a cursory examination of Social Security and we’ve got people in there that are about 150 years old,” Musk said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
The scale of improper government payments is massive. In 2023 alone, the GAO reported that the federal government made an estimated $236 billion in improper payments, including overpayments, underpayments, and payments to ineligible recipients.
“There is absolutely waste, fraud, and abuse, and there are improper payments, and there are inefficiencies,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, director of government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “And they just come up with all kinds of reasons that basically come down to ‘It’s too hard, and we don’t want to do it.’”
Musk is pushing for major updates to the “Do Not Pay” system, including automated fraud detection, real-time monitoring, and daily updates to prevent payments from slipping through the cracks.
Lawsuits accuse Musk of wielding too much power
Musk’s expanding role in federal government spending is now at the center of two major lawsuits. Legal challenges filed in Washington, D.C., and Maryland this week argue that Musk is exercising executive power without Senate confirmation, violating the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
D.O.G.E. was created through a Trump executive order—not through Congress—meaning it is not an official government agency. Despite that, Musk has been operating out of the White House, controlling federal budgets, and making key financial decisions.
The first lawsuit, filed by a group of federal employees, accuses Musk of holding unprecedented power over federal operations.
“His power includes, at least, the authority to cease the payment of congressionally approved funds, access sensitive and confidential data across government agencies, cut off systems access to federal employees and contractors at will, and take over and dismantle entire independent federal agencies,” the lawsuit states.
A second lawsuit, filed by a coalition of state governments, argues that Musk’s unchecked authority is destabilizing government operations.
They claim his role has created ‘mass chaos and confusion’ for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people.
Legal experts say these cases could escalate all the way to the Supreme Court, potentially determining whether a president has the power to appoint an unelected official to control federal spending without Senate approval.
Musk takes over US Digital Services, fires staffers
Musk’s latest move under D.O.G.E. has triggered another controversy—the firing of federal IT workers from the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), an agency that has provided IT and cybersecurity support to the government since the Obama administration.
For weeks, USDS employees were left in limbo, unsure of their job status. But starting Friday, Musk’s team began issuing termination letters to staffers, citing Trump’s January 20 executive order that established D.O.G.E.
The termination letters, sent from “U.S. DOGE SERVICE”, stated:
“Due to the restructuring and changes to USDS’s mission, USDS no longer has need for your services.”
More than a dozen employees have already been dismissed, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The remaining USDS employees were separately told by the U.S. DOGE Service that they must report to a physical office by April 15.
Before Musk’s takeover, USDS played a key role in modernizing government systems, including the revamp of the federal student aid portal when it crashed last year under the Department of Education.
The White House and the Office of Management and Budget have not responded to requests for comment on the terminations and restructuring of USDS under D.O.G.E.
D.O.G.E. has now put Musk at the center of one of the biggest government shakeups in decades. Federal agencies are being restructured, funding is being slashed, and lawsuits are mounting.
Whether Musk’s take-no-prisoners approach will permanently reshape federal spending or collapse under legal challenges is still unclear. But one thing is certain—D.O.G.E. is disrupting Washington like nothing before.
