Elon Musk has been applying Silicon valley’s “move fast and break things” approach to the US government, despite it being just around half a month since he has been heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The following is a timeline of what has been happening with the government’s new cost-cutting wing run by the world’s richest person, according to a Business Insider report.
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January 20: Trump signs an executive order giving birth to DOGE officially. Though the initial order suggested it would lead a “software modernization initiative,” it became clear later that its influence would be over many federal agencies.
Lawsuits against DOGE also immediately came in that time. Then Vivek Ramaswamy, its planned co-leader, left.
January 21: The Office of Personnel Management asked agencies to make lists of workers they could easily fire, which included probationary employees, such as those in their first one or two years on the job, according to the report.
DOGE also posted on X about how minting pennies is costing the government a lot.
January 22: A federal hiring freeze was announced and some job offers were also revoked.
The Office of Personnel Management also ordered agencies to place all DEI employees on leave.
January 23: William McGinley confirms his departure as DOGE’s general counsel.
January 24: DOGE posted that $420 million worth of current and pending contracts had been canceled, along with two leases, according to the report.
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January 26: DOGE’s X account posted that it was looking for “world-class talent to work long hours to identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”
DOGE also added that 16 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility contracts worth $145 million in total had been canceled, according to the report.
January 27: DOGE claimed the General Services Administration (GSA) had terminated three leases of mostly empty office space for saving $1.6 million.
DOGE also reported that the GSA had repealed three internal DEIA policies and also eliminated public-facing websites and language centered on DEIA.
Then the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo announcing a freeze on federal grants and loans, which left federal agencies and nonprofits scrambling, according to the report.
January 28: Federal workers received an email which was an offer to resign by February 6 and receive pay and benefits through September.
January 29: The federal grant freeze was taken back, though the White House argued that only the memo was rescinded and not the freeze itself.
DOGE also cancelled $45 million for DEI scholarships in Burma. In total, it said, 85 DEIA contracts had been canceled, the Business Insider report read.
January 31: District judge McConnell officially granted a temporary restraining order that paused the funding freeze for states involved in litigation.
DOGE at that time posted a spreadsheet that outlined canceled contracts and their savings of almost $1.3 billion.
February 2: Lease terminations increased to 22 over six days, the report quoted DOGE as saying it saved $44.6 million.
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February 3: A White House official confirmed that Musk was a special government employee, according to the report.
DOGE said 20 consulting contracts worth $26 million had been canceled and USAID employees were in administrative leave after Musk said the agency should be shut down.
February 4: The White House announced that over 20,000 federal workers had opted to accept buyouts.
