Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

An advisory body led by Elon Musk tasked with identifying federal spending cuts and government restructuring opportunities. - Leading federal restructuring efforts

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau returned $21 billion to defrauded Americans over its 14-year existence. Now the agency that Elizabeth Warren built is fighting for survival, its workforce slashed from 1,700 to roughly 200, its budget cut in half, and federal judges the only barrier between it and extinction.

Updated Feb 12

Advisory organization in the Executive Office of the President established to modernize federal technology and reduce government spending. - Formally dissolved November 2025; access controversies continue in courts

The Privacy Act of 1974 was written to prevent exactly this: government employees using federal databases containing Social Security numbers, health records, and bank account information for unauthorized purposes. For nearly a year, Department of Government Efficiency staffers did it anyway—copying the records of 300 million Americans to unsecured servers, sharing files with outside political groups, and coordinating with election-denial activists to match voter rolls against Social Security data.

Updated Jan 26