Most of us have fallen down an internet rabbit hole at least once. But whether it’s celebrity gossip or obscure Reddit threads, at least we can walk away from it. Yet, trying to find your way out of the loophole of Donald Trump’s newly-renamed Department of Government Efficiency leads to more questions than answers and a real fear about who is in charge at our nation’s capital.
Created with unclear jurisdiction, DOGE was brought to life through an executive order signed on Jan. 20. The executive order renamed the pre-existing “United States Digital Service” into the “United States DOGE Service,” along with relocating the department as part of the Executive Office of the President. The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, was assigned to lead the new department.
Three weeks later, there are more questions than answers about his position and sweeping power.
The new department was created “to modernize federal technology and software,” yet the only thing it seems to have accomplished is countless attempts to defund and dismantle federal agencies in the name of “efficiency.”
DOGE’s most recent agency-persecution came against the Department of Education. In that short span of time, a $900 million budget cut was announced, as well as termination of 89 contracts and 29 grants associated with diversity and equity training. Ironically, all these decisions come from the top floor of the DOE building where DOGE has been operating since they do not have an official building.
Not considered a federal agency, DOGE has no legal basis, but worst of all, it has no clear restrictions or checks and balances. Since the department is not considered a federal agency, Congress approval is not needed to appoint members or leadership. Despite having access to plenty of sensitive information from multiple agencies, Musk has yet to receive a clearance check. The fact that a department with no clear basis wants complete access to government information is absurd and disturbing.
The majority of information publicly available about DOGE is on a congressional research service, which restates the executive order and predicts some potential areas of interest. The document is filled with layers of complex and unnecessary bureaucracy— for example there is a U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization which is separate from the original one and an 18-month plan that deviates from the original restructuring of the department.
As we continue to navigate this latest internet rabbit hole, the question remains: Can we afford to let DOGE continue without real answers or is it time to demand a serious review of the department’s legality? Until those questions are addressed, the fear of what lies ahead will only grow while we hope that the rabbit hole does not turn into a nightmare.
