Tech billionaire Elon Musk has called it quits with running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after a four month run as a special government employee. Since its inception, DOGE has been on the receiving end of much criticism due to Musk’s involvement. Whilst DOGE’s purpose is to slash federal spending, an April post from EPI states that “a more accurate description of what President Trump’s advisor is doing to Social Security is sabotage.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office issued a report detailing Musk’s 130 days in office wherein the tech mogul is accused of using his government position to enrich his businesses.
Here is what you need to know.
What is DOGE?
An executive order establishing DOGE was signed by President Trump on his first day in office. In essence, DOGE was a reorganized and renamed version of the already existing unit in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which was aimed at “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” The unit was unofficially run by Elon Musk who had been given free reign by Trump and as a result, major cutbacks had been implemented at several agencies. Regarding DOGE’s integration into the Social Security Administration (SSA), a former chief of staff described it as a “hostile takeover”.
Despite already being spread quite thin and near its breaking point, the SSA was made to reduce its staff by letting 7,000 employees go. In turn, this workforce minimization caused wait times — both in-person and over the phone — to skyrocket. Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley has observed, “that not only has DOGE set the stage for a total collapse of the system, but this brain drain is being paid for by Social Security participants.”
The chronicle of Elon Musk and DOGE
In Sen. Warren’s report, it is stated that “Musk and individuals acting on his behalf have been involved in dozens of questionable actions that raise questions about corruption, ethics and conflicts of interest.” Titled “130 days of Elon Musk”, the 14 page report lists out 130 instances of Musk abusing his DOGE role to further his private interests — as per what Warren’s team believes.
In the report, Musk’s actions during his fourth months running the program have been described as “scandalous behavior regardless of whether it subjects him to criminal prosecution.”
The report listing Musk’s infractions are broken up into the following sub-categories:
- Government resources to promote Musk’s businesses
- Federal Contracts for Musk’s businesses
- Ending enforcement actions against Musk’s businesses
- Undercutting agencies regulating and investigating
Musk’s businesses - Policy changes and approvals that benefit Musk’s
businesses - Special access to sensitive meetings and data
- Influence over government personnel
- Musk’s parochial interests over the public interest
- Leveraging Musk’s power to threaten other businesses
- Weaponizing agencies against Musk’s enemies
- Securing policy benefits through Congress
- Foreign deals
- Deals for Musk’s family
- Meddling in the electoral and judicial processes
- Lack of public transparency
It appears that Musk’s four month run with DOGE as a special government employee has been made notable due to the “unprecedented upheaval to the federal workforce.” Furthermore, Warren’s team is alleging that the billionaire used the federal government to promote his businesses. Musk is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI — and is the richest person on earth.
The first instance of Musk misusing his position as per the report is the time “Trump and Musk turned the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom.”
The report goes on to highlight around six instances whereby enforcement actions against any of Musk’s businesses were halted by either the Trump Administration or federal agencies. It appears that there had also been cases of DOGE targeting government agencies that had been investigating his companies.
“Musk’s companies have received or are being considered for large contracts with the federal government, with foreign governments, and with other private sector companies,” according to the report.
Last week, Warren, along with two other Democratic senators, sent a letter to the Justice Department and other authorities urging them to open an inquiry into whether “DOGE employees broke conflict-of-interest laws by owning stocks in companies that may have benefited from their government-cutting work.”