What’s Wrong With DOGE? Its Structure, for One

The [four Executive Orders] make clear that while DOGE would have a central hub within the White House, it would also have outgrowths of power across the federal government. And with each order, the power of DOGE ― wherever DOGE was located ― increased.

While it was not authorized by Congress to be an agency, in some respects DOGE operates like one ― involved in firing thousands of federal employees, canceling contracts, and physically shuttering federal office buildings. This gray space between agency and “not-agency” comes with significant benefits. The difficulty defining DOGE is not an accident, but rather seemingly opacity-by-design that helps block its personnel and actions from judicial review, congressional oversight, and public accountability….

But so far, the administration has been contradictory about who is actually calling the shots at DOGE. Before his swearing in, Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead DOGE’s work. Ramaswamy stepped away, and since assuming office, Trump has repeatedly presented Musk as the leader of DOGE. Most notably, in his March 6 Joint Address to Congress, Trump said “I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency – DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it — perhaps — which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.”

Yet when DOGE actions have been challenged in court or in the media, the administration has denied that Musk is its lead. On February 3, the administration announced that Musk was a special government employee. Later that month, a White House aide declared under penalty of perjury as part of a lawsuit that Musk is a White House senior advisor – not the leader of DOGE. On February 25, Amy Gleason was named as the Acting Administrator of DOGE; it’s not clear when she was appointed. In a March court filing, the administration revealed that Gleason was also detailed to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in February and was hired by the department on March 4. It’s not clear, given the vast reach of DOGE, how a single person could both lead the entity’s efforts and work full-time at a federal agency at the same time.

The fluidity of DOGE’s structure and staffing will continue until court rulings begin to fence in the entity and how it operates. Or until DOGE transforms completely into an effort dictated by the White House, but implemented by full-time agency employees who may previously have worked for DOGE directly.