This is a long report, well worth reading in full, and a living document as well (new agencies are added). PDF here.
From the Executive Summary:
Under the banner of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), Elon Musk and Russell Vought have eagerly shred[sic] political, professional, and legal precedent in their effort to dismantle the essential functions of the federal government—and most importantly, democracy at large.
DOGE agents—a cohort of unelected, unqualified, and unaccountable goons recruited from Elon Musk and Peter Thiel’s orbit—have been given unfettered access to the internal machinery of federal agencies. From seizing control of the nation’s payment system at the Treasury Department to orchestrating mass purges of the experts who ensure our food is safe, these actors bypassed traditional oversight to strip agencies of their ability to serve the American public.
And from the Introduction:
President Donald Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) marked a radical restructuring of the federal government and an unprecedented transfer of power to an unelected private citizen in Elon Musk. Even as DOGE fell out of the daily headlines following Musk’s exit, the guiding principles of the agency lived on through Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, who took up the mantle of decimating federal capacity on behalf of billionaire interests.
Pitched as a solution to our purported bureaucratic malaise, the Trump administration initially advertised the initiative as a vehicle to bring more accountability and transparency to federal spending. Instead, DOGE became a central hub for dismantling core public services and accelerating agency attrition, while consolidating power through tech-aligned privatization efforts. DOGE functioned less as an efficiency project and more as an instrument of institutional erosion, one whose effects are evident across the federal government.
Leadership and Higher Ups: Amy Gleason, Anthony Armstrong, Antonio Gracias , Brad Smith, Chris Young, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Russell Vought, Scott Kupor, Steve Davis, and Tom Krause
Notable Staff: Akash Bobba, Amanda Scales, Brian Bjelde, Bryton Shang, Christopher Sweet, Edward Coristine, Gavin Kliger, Jeremy Lewin, Justin Fulcher, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez, Michael Grimes, Michael Mirski, Nikhil Rajpal, Thomas Shedd
Agencies Targeted By DOGE
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Educationa
- Department of Energy
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Labor
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of the Treasury
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- General Services Administration
- Institute of Peaces
- Internal Revenue Service
- National Labor Relations Board
- Office of Personnel Management
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Social Security Administration
- United States Agency for International Development
- United States Postal Service
The Shift: Enter “Vampire Vought”
After Musk’s exit, DOGE, filled with his lackeys, remained a feature in the federal government. In fact, the guiding principles of DOGE—traumatizing federal workers, decimating government capacity, and slashing funding for people and places in need—were rejuvenated, albeit with a new, more effective and more discreet standard bearer. Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, began firming up DOGE’s legacy behind the scenes, using the power of his office to embed DOGE personnel in federal agencies as full time staff and institutionalize funding cuts through illegal use of the Impoundment Control Act.
Vought’s effectiveness stems from the immense structural power of the OMB. As director of the agency, Vought can review and reshape federal budget proposals according to his own ideological priorities, even if the agency leaders disagree. A supposed hyper-originalist and self-described Christian Nationalist, Vought has used this leverage to reshape the federal government from the top down.
The Institutionalization of DOGE
Before his return to government, Vought was explicit about his goals for the next Trump administration—put civil servants “in trauma.” DOGE, with its chaotic terminations and forced resignations of federal workers, did just that. It’s no wonder that Vought said in July that he was looking to make DOGE’s legacy “permanent” by using “OMB institutional expertise.”
Vought has taken several steps to do so, starting with withholding funding seemingly through rescissions and impoundment. In July, the OMB conducted “an ongoing programmatic review” of $6 billion in funding for a host of Department of Education programs, including teacher training, English as a Second Language classes, and more.
Lambert here: Very much worth a read. Oddly, however, the word “exfiltration” does not appear.
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