Some protégés of unpaid billionaire, tech executive and powerful Republican donor Peter Thiel are preparing to take unofficial positions in the U.S. government in the name of cutting costs.
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by President-elect Donald J. Trump, is hiring individuals linked to co-chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to fight “wasteful” spending. We are preparing to deploy to a federal government agency. .
After Inauguration Day, a group of wide-eyed Silicon Valley-inspired recruits will be assigned to Washington’s alphabet soup of agencies. The goal is for most major institutions to eventually have two DOGE representatives as they seek to cut costs, just as Musk did with his social media platform, X.
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.
Even on the eve of President Trump’s inauguration, DOGE’s structure remains amorphous and tight-knit. People involved in the effort say confidentiality and prevention of leaks are paramount, and most communication is conducted on Signal, an encrypted messaging app.
Trump said the effort would bring “radical change” and provide outside advice on how to cut wasteful spending. DOGE itself has no authority to cut spending. That power lies with Congress. Instead, it is expected to provide recommendations on which programs and other areas to cut.
But some parts of the operation are becoming clear. Many of the executives involved expect to voluntarily work within the federal government for six months before returning to higher-paying jobs. Mr. Musk said he would not receive a salary (a non-starter to some of the tech executives who were originally interested) and was asked to work 80 hours a week. Some, including Mr. Musk, will be so-called special government employees, a special category of temporary employees who can work for the federal government for only 130 days or less out of 365 days.
Representatives will primarily be located within federal agencies. After some consideration by senior officials, DOGE itself is now unlikely to be incorporated into any organized external agency or non-profit organization. Instead, it is likely to exist as a brand for a group of interconnected aspiring leaders who participate in communal group chats and share a loyalty to Mr. Musk or Mr. Ramaswami.
“The cynics among us would say, ‘Oh, it’s naive billionaires jumping into the fray.’ But the other side would say this is a service to the country that we saw more generally at the time of our founding,” said entrepreneur Trevor Traina, who worked in the first Trump administration along with colleagues who considered joining DOGE.
“The friends I know are living incredible lives,” Traina said. And they agreed to work for free for six months, leave their families and roll up their sleeves in an attempt to turn things around. You can see it either way.”
DOGE leaders have told others that a small number of people not specified in the agency will be housed in the Office of the President, U.S. Digital Service. The office was created in 2014 by former President Barack Obama to “transform our government’s approach to technology.”
The governor is also expected to have an office in the Office of Management and Budget, and officials are also considering forming a think tank outside the government in the future.
Musk’s friends have been closely involved in selecting people for placement in various institutions. People interviewed by DOGE include people with personal ties to Musk, including Silicon Valley investors Marc Andreessen, Shaun Maguire, and Baris Akis. Some of the recipients of the Thiel Fellowship, a prestigious grant funded by Mr. Thiel to people who commit to skipping or dropping out of college to become entrepreneurs, are involved in DOGE’s programming and operations. Brokering introductions to Mr. Musk or Mr. Ramaswami, or their inner circle, was a key way to select which leader to deploy.
That’s how Loom co-founder Vinay Hiremath said he became involved with DOGE, in a rare public statement from someone who worked with DOGE. In a post on his personal blog this month, Mr. Hiremath described the work DOGE employees did before deciding not to move to Washington to join the company.
He wrote, “After eight calls with fast-talking and smart-looking people, I joined several Signal groups and started working immediately.” “The next four weeks of my life consisted of making 100s of phone calls recruiting some of the smartest people I’ve ever spoken to, working on a variety of projects I can’t say for certain, and learning how completely dysfunctional our government was. “It was really explosive.”
These new recruits are assigned to specific organizations that are judged to have specialized knowledge. Some other DOGE registrants are Mr. Musk and Mr. It came to Ramaswamy’s attention. In recent weeks, DOGE’s account for The office has the same function as human resources.
The DOGE team, which includes paid engineers, works primarily out of a glass building at SpaceX’s downtown offices, a few blocks from the White House. Mr. Ramaswamy and some people close to Mr. Musk hope DOGE engineers can use artificial intelligence to find cost-saving opportunities.
The broader effort is being led by two people with completely different backgrounds. One is Brad Smith, a medical entrepreneur and former top health official under President Trump who is close to President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. . Mr. Smith has managed DOGE effectively during the transition period, with a particular focus on recruiting staff to join the agency.
Mr. Smith is widely known to act as Mr. Musk’s representative on all matters. Has worked closely with Musk collaborator Steve Davis for 20 years. For example, Mr. Davis joined Mr. Musk in calling the expert with questions about the federal budget.
Others involved include Matt Luby, Ramaswamy’s chief of staff and childhood friend; Joanna Wischer, a Trump campaign official; Also working closely with Ms. Smith is McKinsey partner Rachel Riley.
Mr. Musk’s personal lawyer, Chris Gober, and Mr. Ramaswami’s personal lawyer, Steve Roberts, have been looking into various legal issues related to DOGE’s structure. Former Justice Department official James Burnham is also assisting DOGE with its legal issues. Instead of being named DOGE’s general counsel, Trump’s first choice as White House counsel, Bill McGinley, took on a more minimal role.
“DOGE will be a cornerstone of the new administration, helping President Trump deliver on his vision for a new golden age,” said Mr. Trump, founder and founder of investment firm Azoria. said James Fishback, a close associate of Ramaswamy. viceroy.
Despite all this firepower, many budget experts were highly skeptical of the effort and its cost-cutting ambitions. Musk initially said the effort could cut “at least $200 billion” from the $6.75 trillion federal budget. But budget experts say it will be difficult to achieve that goal without cutting popular programs like Social Security and Medicare, which Trump has pledged not to cut.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswami also explained again what success means. Mr. Ramaswamy last month highlighted the DOGE-led deregulation of
And in an interview last week with Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of marketing firm Stagwell, Musk downplayed the total potential savings.
“We will strive for $2 trillion. I think this is the best outcome,” Musk said. “You have to have some excess. “I think if we try to get to $2 trillion, there’s a good chance we can get to $1 trillion.”
