Politics · 4 min read
DOGE: What Musk Tried to Do in Washington
For four months in 2025 Elon Musk tried to run part of the federal government like a start-up. What he wanted, what happened and why it still matters.
Follow Musk to Pluto Desk · October 4, 2026
The Department of Government Efficiency was Musk's idea, pitched to Donald Trump in 2024 and created by executive order on 20 January 2025. Its stated goal: modernise federal IT and squeeze waste out of the government.
The start-up method, applied to the state
DOGE teams went into federal agencies, cancelled contracts and pushed for smaller staff. Musk served as Senior Advisor to the President; a federal judge found he was DOGE's de facto leader.
The pushback
Many DOGE actions were challenged in court and some were ruled unlawful. Budget experts and journalists disputed its savings numbers. Musk left Washington on 30 May 2025, and soon after clashed with Trump over the "Big Beautiful Bill". DOGE itself stopped operating on 4 July 2026, as scheduled.
Our take
You can argue about the numbers — and people will for years. But DOGE asked a question no one in Washington wanted asked out loud: what does all this spending actually buy? That question did not leave with Musk.