DOGE and Elon Musk—synonyms that have wreaked havoc and perhaps panic within the walls of the White House. At the same time, the world was being greeted with countless posts on DOGE and how it is positioned to Make America Great Again!
On Monday afternoon, a federal judge had a question that really shouldn’t have been this hard to answer: Is Elon Musk the administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? A simple answer would have sufficed except not if you’re the Trump administration.
According to Justice Department lawyer Bradley Humphreys, Musk is just a “close adviser to the president.” That’s like saying the pilot is just a helpful addon who happens to be sitting in the cockpit. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to clear things up. While acknowledging that Trump had “tasked” Musk to oversee DOGE, she also insisted that a team of career officials and appointees were actually running the show.
So, who’s really in charge? That remained a mystery—at least for a while.
For weeks, the White House had dodged naming an actual administrator for DOGE. Even when grilled on Tuesday, Leavitt refused to spill the beans, simply stating, “I’m not going to reveal the name of that individual from this podium.”
Meanwhile, Musk himself has been front and center in DOGE’s operations, making grand appearances, throwing cryptic tweets into the ether, and making it look like he’s the man running the show. Lawsuits have piled up, questioning the legitimacy of DOGE’s actions, especially since the agency reportedly gained access to Treasury Department systems controlling trillions of dollars. But still, officials stood firm—Musk is not the administrator.
Yet, Trump being Trump, went ahead and contradicted his own administration. Speaking at a financial conference in Miami last week, he declared, “I put a man named Elon Musk in charge.” Well, there you have it—or maybe not.
In a last-minute twist, the White House finally dropped a name on Tuesday—Amy Gleason. She’s apparently the acting administrator of DOGE. Her LinkedIn still listed her as a senior adviser at the United States Digital Service as of Tuesday afternoon, leaving everyone wondering – When was she appointed? What’s her real role? And how does Musk still fit into this puzzle?
Why The Confusion?
Meanwhile, Musk has been leading an outside effort to aggressively curtail government spending through funding cuts and firings.
Some say its a game, if Musk was actually the administrator, then this issue about him needing Senate confirmation and his actually having to abide by the conflict of interest laws would be much clearer.
Experts said that Musk has given the impression of being in charge of Doge by staffing the government entity with employees and engineers from his various companies, posting constantly about its work on X, appearing alongside Trump in the Oval Office to promote the cuts it has made to the federal workforce, and representing it on stage at the Conservative Political Action Committee gathering last week while wielding a chainsaw.
Trump established Doge by renaming the United States Digital Service—an agency focused on digital and web infrastructure—to the United States Doge Service via an executive order.
The order establishes Doge’s leadership structure, saying that “there shall be a USDS Administrator” that reports up to the White House chief of staff.
Doge’s arrival has caused turbulence in the existing US Digital Service ranks. The administration fired several staffers there earlier this month, and the Associated Press reported that 21 employees resigned in protest on Tuesday.
In a letter to management, they alleged Doge employees were creating “significant security risks.”
A series of lawsuits challenging Doge have slowed some of the administration’s effort to cut the federal workforce, and they have forced the Trump White House to face the question of Musk’s status in court.
Until the administration stated that Ms. Gleason was the acting administrator late on Tuesday, it gave vague answers about Doge’s leadership across multiple lawsuits.
Though she did not rule in the hearing on Monday, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly expressed concern about Doge’s constitutionality. She noted it might run afoul of the appointment clause of the US Constitution, which sets out nominating procedures for agency leaders.
Experts say that Musk’s work does not fit the traditional definition of “special government employee,” which has specific rules.
The White House has previously said that Musk “is a special government employee and has abided by all applicable federal laws.”
While Musk appears to have made several moves regarding the federal workforce largely unencumbered, his recent demand that federal employees list five accomplishments in an email was met with pushback from some Trump-appointed agency leaders.
The directive was walked back as optional at some agencies, over concerns staff could reveal sensitive information and that the order violated federal policies.
Resignations Rock DOGE Amid Growing Dissent
A wave of discontent has hit the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with over 20 civil servants stepping down in protest against Elon Musk’s aggressive restructuring.
The resigning employees, many of whom were experienced technocrats, accused DOGE of undermining essential public services rather than optimizing them. Their departure marks a significant escalation in tensions between traditional bureaucratic structures and Musk’s disruptive approach to governance.
Critics argue that Musk’s recruits, handpicked to spearhead sweeping cost-cutting measures, lack the expertise required to manage complex federal programs. Some have gone so far as to label the initiative a reckless purge rather than a reform effort. As government agencies brace for further upheaval, the exodus raises pressing questions about the long-term viability of Musk’s vision.
Does Musk’s Cost-Cutting Claim Hold Water?
While Musk touts DOGE as a revolutionary force in slashing government waste, a closer examination suggests a starkly different reality. A recent analysis found that nearly 40% of canceled federal contracts listed by DOGE as cost-saving measures would yield no actual financial benefits. In several cases, funds had already been allocated or spent, rendering the cancellations futile.
One glaring example of exaggeration was a contract Musk’s team had celebrated for saving $8 billion—when in fact, it was worth a mere $8 million. Such discrepancies have cast doubt on the legitimacy of DOGE’s cost-cutting claims, with some experts likening the approach to confiscating “used ammunition after it’s been shot.”
The ‘Five Accomplishments’ Mandate
Amid the bureaucratic shake-up, Musk issued a directive requiring over 2 million federal employees to submit a weekly report listing five accomplishments—or face termination. The policy, which was met with swift resistance, has triggered confusion across federal departments. Some Trump-appointed officials have actively resisted enforcement, further fracturing an already divided administration.
Notably, Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI Director, instructed his employees to disregard the directive, leading to an escalating standoff between DOGE and key government agencies. Despite mounting opposition, Musk has doubled down, warning that noncompliance with the order could lead to immediate dismissal.
The Last Bit
With mass resignations, questionable cost-cutting claims, internal resistance, and mounting legal scrutiny, DOGE’s future remains uncertain.
The controversy has exposed deep rifts within the Trump administration, raising critical questions about the balance between efficiency and accountability in government reform.
As Musk continues to push the boundaries of federal oversight, and after all this back and forth, the real question remains—does DOGE have a leader, or is it just running on pure, unfiltered chaos? Either way, it seems Musk is still pulling the strings, whether officially or not.
