Trump’s DOGE quietly shuts down early, with eight months still left on its charter

OPM absorbs DOGE work as Musk-era cost-cutting unit fades out ahead of July 2026 deadline.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has disbanded with eight months left in its mandate, bringing an end to a high-profile initiative launched as a central piece of Trump’s plan to shrink the federal government, Reuters reported.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor confirmed to Reuters earlier this month that DOGE no longer exists as a functioning unit. “That doesn’t exist,” Kupor said when asked about its status. He added that DOGE is no longer a “centralised entity.”

Trump had signed an executive order stating DOGE would run through July 2026, but the administration has not made any formal public announcement of its closure, Reuters said.

How the unit operated, and where its work moved

DOGE was set up in January 2025 and immediately began pushing rapid federal downsizing, cutting staff, trimming budgets, and shifting agency work toward Trump priorities, according to Reuters.

Kupor said OPM has taken over many of DOGE’s functions. Documents reviewed by Reuters also point to OPM absorbing the workstreams that DOGE previously coordinated.

A government-wide hiring freeze that DOGE championed is now over, Kupor told Reuters. He said there is no longer any active “target around reductions.”

Big spotlight, limited public accounting

DOGE’s disappearance contrasts with the attention it drew through the first months of Trump’s second term. Trump officials repeatedly highlighted DOGE on social media, while Elon Musk, who initially led the unit, promoted its work publicly, including a headline-grabbing appearance at CPAC in February where he held a chainsaw and described it as a tool “for bureaucracy,” Reuters reported.

DOGE said it cut tens of billions of dollars in expenditures, but Reuters noted that outside experts could not verify the claims because the unit did not provide a detailed public accounting.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in an email to Reuters that Trump continues to deliver on his mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse.

DOGE staff shift to new roles inside the administration

Even as DOGE dissolves, several of its former staff have moved into other parts of the government, Reuters said.

Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder and a prominent DOGE figure, now heads the National Design Studio, a new body created through a Trump executive order signed in August. The order directs the studio to improve government websites.

DOGE employee Edward Coristine, known online as “Big Balls,” is also linked to the Design Studio effort, Reuters reported.

Other former DOGE aides have taken senior positions:

Zachary Terrell is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Rachel Riley is now chief of the Office of Naval Research.
Jeremy Lewin oversees foreign assistance at the State Department.

Reuters said the Design Studio has already launched websites tied to recruiting law enforcement officers for Washington, D.C., and to Trump’s drug-pricing programme.

What continues after DOGE

Musk had described DOGE’s aims as deleting regulations, using AI to remake government systems, and cutting federal jobs, Reuters reported. While DOGE as an entity is gone, the deregulation effort continues.

Reuters said Scott Langmack, once DOGE’s representative at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is now working with the White House budget office to build AI tools to review regulations for elimination.

Parallel DOGE-style efforts emerge in states

Republican-led states including Idaho and Florida are creating local bodies similar to DOGE, according to Reuters.