((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Added details of DOGE executive order and Trump’s quote on his hiring in paragraphs 5-6) by Raphael Satter, Tim Reid and Kanishka Singh
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to create an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency, whose goal is to make deep cuts in the American administration, which earned him immediate prosecution to challenge its operation.
This group, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is led by Tesla TSLA.O CEO Elon Musk and has the grandiose goal of eliminating entire federal agencies and eliminating three-quarters of government jobs. within the federal government.
Unsuccessful Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy was a co-chair but left to run for elected office, said Anna Kelly, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump. A person with knowledge of Ramaswamy’s plans said he was preparing to run for governor of Ohio.
“To restore the competence and efficiency of our federal government, my administration will create the all-new Department of Government Effectiveness,” Mr. Trump said in his inauguration speech on Monday.
The decree, announced by the White House late Monday, specifies that the group’s objective is to “modernize federal technology and software”
Mr. Trump told reporters that there were plans to hire about 20 people to implement the group’s goals.
-However, the committee, despite its name, is not a ministry and has only limited formal authority to carry out any reorganization, let alone the deep cuts proposed by Musk and Ramaswamy.
Government employee unions, watchdog groups and public interest organizations filed lawsuits within minutes of the announcement.
Among them was National Security Counselors, which alleged that DOGE violated a 1972 law governing federal advisory committees. The American Public Health Association, the American Federation of Teachers and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, also filed the lawsuit at .
Another watchdog group, Public Citizen, is suing over the uncertain legal status of DOGE, as is a union representing U.S. government employees.
Tesla and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuits, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Advisory committees on reducing government waste are often announced with great fanfare and usually achieve little.
In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan announced the creation of a panel of “outstanding private sector experts” to review executive branch spending. This group submitted its report 18 months late and most of its recommendations were never implemented.
