DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, is done.
Although the department, which was created by a Trump executive order and was headed by SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk for a period, slashed billions in waste, they were not able to cut as much as they’d originally hoped.
The closure is not a surprise: it was always a temporary office, and Trump had set July 4, 2026, as the date for its swan song. The DOGE website is still up, however, and claims they nuked an estimated $215 billion in waste with a “Combination of asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions.”
That comes to $1,335.40 per taxpayer. I’ll take that.
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) July 4, 2026
While the formal mission of DOGE has come to an end, the mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse will continue. Good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and accountable government are…
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
While the formal mission of DOGE has come to an end, the mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse will continue. Good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and accountable government are not temporary initiatives. We hope those principles endure long into America’s next 250 years.
It has been our greatest honor to serve the American people. Happy 4th! 🇺🇸
The effort also brought us unforgettable moments like this:
BREAKING: Javier Milei just gifted Elon Musk a DOGE chainsaw.
— Jack (@jackunheard) February 20, 2025
This is so badass 🔥
pic.twitter.com/RfTs3bjgt8
MORE: Elon Musk Is Now Taking Action After Ro Khanna Vows to Investigate Him for His USAID Actions
Federal Employment at Lowest Point Since LBJ Era As DOGE Reductions Take Hold
DOGE was not without its controversy, as Elon Musk was pilloried by the Left for daring to participate in a Donald Trump effort while Democrats and the media went nuts over cuts to agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was found to be funneling off hundreds of millions to causes, organizations, and nations that operated in the face of U.S. interests.
In the end, the department did not reach its goals, which has progressives laughing — but isn’t $215 billion in savings a win? Not to Dems, evidently.
Here's what @DOGE found the USAID money was being spent on:
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) June 23, 2026
• $4.8 million to Ukraine’s public affairs office in Kyiv to fund social media influencers.
• $2.1 million to Paraguay to “enhance” their border security.
• Ukrainian women-led designers to fly to the Paris…
Here's what @DOGE found the USAID money was being spent on:
• $4.8 million to Ukraine’s public affairs office in Kyiv to fund social media influencers.
• $2.1 million to Paraguay to “enhance” their border security.
• Ukrainian women-led designers to fly to the Paris Fashion Show.
• $2 million on transgender surgeries, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming care in Guatemala.
• $3 million to promote “girl-centric climate action” in Brazil.
• $25,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia.
• $32,000 in Peru for a comic book featuring a “Trans hero” to tackle social and mental health issues.
• $20,000 for a DEI-promoting drag theater show in Ecuador.
• $20 million for a new Sesame Street show in Iraq.
• $6 million to boost “sustainable tourism” in Egypt—plus $50 million for Tunisia’s tourism.
• $87.9 million to help Afghans “farm”—which just happened to include poppy fields.
• $70,000 for a live musical event promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Ireland.
• Over $54 million funneled to EcoHealth Alliance—the group linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the likely origins of COVID.
• $15 million to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for oral contraceptives and condoms.
DOGE was always intended to be temporary — Musk even said, “The final step of @DOGE is to delete itself” — but I’ll miss it. Even now that it’s gone, the mission to cut off the fat of our enormous federal government must continue, and bringing serious consequences to cheaters must be prioritized. For now, though, it’s time for DOGE to ride off into the sunset.
But we’ll always have the chainsaw.
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