An unpaid group of billionaires, tech executives and some disciples of Peter Thiel, a powerful Republican donor, are preparing to take unofficial positions in the US government in the name of cost-cutting.
As President-elect Donald J.’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency Trump is preparing to send people with ties to his co-chief executives, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to jobs across the federal government. .
After Inauguration Day, the group of wide-eyed, Silicon Valley-leaning recruits will grow into the alphabet soup of Washington agencies. The goal is for most major companies to eventually have two DOGE representatives as they seek to reduce costs as Mr. Mask on X, his social networking platform.
This story is based on interviews with about a dozen people with insight into DOGE’s operations. They spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
On the eve of the presidency of Mr. Trump, the structure of the DOGE is still amorphous and closely held. People involved in the business say that secrecy and avoiding leaks are paramount, and that much of its communication is conducted on Signal, its encrypted messaging app.
Mr. Trump said the effort would lead to “dramatic change” and that the entity would provide outside advice on how to cut wasteful spending. The DOGE itself will not have the power to cut spending—that power rests with Congress. Instead, it is expected to provide recommendations for programs and other areas to cut.
But parts of the operation are becoming clear: Many of the executives involved expect to do six-month volunteer stints within the federal government before returning to their high-paying jobs. Mr. Musk said they wouldn’t be paid — a nonstarter for some initially interested tech executives — and asked them to work 80 hours a week. Some, possibly including Mr. Musk, will be so-called special civil servants, a specific category of temporary workers who can work for the federal government for only 130 days or less in a 365-day period.
Representatives will be placed largely within federal agencies. After some consideration by top officials, DOGE itself is now unlikely to be incorporated as an organized external entity or non-profit organization. Instead, it’s likely to exist more as a brand for an interconnected group of aspiring leaders who are in common group chats and share a belief in Mr. Mask or to Mr. Ramaswamy.
“The cynics among us will say, ‘Oh, it’s naive billionaires jumping into the fray.’ But the other side will say this is a service to the nation that we saw more typically around the founding of the nation,” said Trevor Traina, a businessman who worked in the first Trump administration with partners who considered joining DOGE.
“The friends I know have huge lives,” said Mr. Trains, “and they agree to work for free for six months and leave their families and roll up their sleeves in an effort to really make a difference. You can see it either way.”
DOGE leaders have told others that the minority of people not detailed to agencies will be housed in the Executive Office of the President at the U.S. Digital Agency, which was created in 2014 by former President Barack Obama to “change the approach of government us in technology”.
The DOGE is also expected to have an office in the Office of Management and Budget, and officials have also considered creating a think tank outside the government in the future.
The friends of Mr. Masks have been closely involved in the selection of individuals to be deployed in various services. Those interviewed for DOGE include Silicon Valley investors Marc Andreessen, Shaun Maguire, Baris Akis and others with personal ties to Mr. Musk. Some who have received the Thiel Fellowship, a prestigious grant funded by Mr. Thiel given to those who promise to skip or drop out of college to become entrepreneurs, are involved in DOGE programming and operations. Mediation for an introduction to Mr. Musk or Mr. Ramaswamy, or in their inner circles, was a key way of selecting leaders for development.
That’s how Loom co-founder Vinay Hiremath said he got involved with DOGE in a rare public statement from someone who worked with the entity. In a post this month on his personal blog, Mr. Hiremath described the work DOGE employees did before he decided not to move to Washington to join the entity.
“After 8 calls with people who all spoke fast and sounded very smart, I was added to a number of Signal groups and immediately put to work,” he wrote. “The next 4 weeks of my life consisted of 100 calls recruiting the smartest people I’ve ever talked to, working on various projects I definitely can’t talk about, and learning how dysfunctional the government was. It was a blast.”
These recruits are assigned to specific agencies where they are believed to have expertise. Some other DOGE registrants have come to the attention of Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy via X. In recent weeks, DOGE’s X account has posted requests to hire a “very small number” of full-time engineering and support positions The office functions as human resources.
DOGE’s team, including paid engineers, work largely in a glass building at SpaceX’s downtown office a few blocks from the White House. Some people close to Mr. Ramaswamy and Mr. Musk hopes these DOGE engineers can use artificial intelligence to find cost-cutting opportunities.
The broader effort is being led by two people with completely different backgrounds: One is Brad Smith, a health entrepreneur and former top health official in Mr. Trump, who is close to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. . Mr. Smith is effectively running DOGE during the transition period, with a particular focus on hiring, especially for workers who will be integrated into the agencies.
Mr. Smith works closely with Steve Davis, an associate of Mr. Musk for two decades, widely seen as working as a proxy for Mr. Mask on all things. Mr. Davis joined Mr. Musk as he calls experts with questions about the federal budget, for example.
Others involved are Matt Luby, the chief of staff to Mr. Ramaswamy and childhood friend. Joanna Wischer, a Trump campaign official; and Rachel Riley, a McKinsey partner who works closely with Mr. Smith.
The personal adviser of Mr. Musk — Chris Gober — and his personal lawyer Mr. Ramaswamy — Steve Roberts — explore various legal issues related to the DOGE structure. James Burnham, a former Justice Department official, also assists the DOGE on legal matters. Bill McGinley, the original choice of Mr. Trump for White House counsel, who was instead named DOGE legal counsel, played a more minimal role.
“DOGE will be a cornerstone of the new administration, helping President Trump realize his vision of a new golden age,” said James Fishback, founder of Azoria, an investment firm and confidant of Mr. Ramaswamy, who will provide external advice to DOGE.
Despite all that firepower, many budget experts were deeply wary of her cost-cutting effort and ambitions. Mr. Musk initially said the effort could result in cuts of “at least $2 trillion” from the $6.75 trillion federal budget. But budget experts say that goal would be difficult to achieve without cutting popular programs like Social Security and Medicare, which Mr. Trump has promised not to cut.
Both Mr. Musk as well as Mr. Ramaswamy have also redefined what success can mean. Mr. Ramaswamy highlighted DOGE-led deregulation last month, saying deregulation could boost the economy and that “DOGE’s success cannot be measured only through deficit reduction.”
And in an interview last week with Mark Penn, the president and CEO of Stagwell, a marketing firm, Mr. Musk downplayed the overall potential savings.
“We’re going to try for $2 trillion — I think that’s the best outcome,” Mr. Mask “You have to have some exaggeration. I think if we try for two trillion, we have a good chance of getting one.”
