DOGE representatives begin meeting with federal staff to reduce government waste: report

Aides to Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are starting to interview federal government employees at the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a new report.

DOGE representatives have held talks with staff from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services . The Washington Post reported friday

Musk and Ramaswamy lead DOGEa separate blue-ribbon committee of the federal government that seeks to address issues related to government spending, waste, efficiency and operations. They are expected to suggest executive actions for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to initiate reforms.

Together, the committee aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to reduce spending, government programs and the federal workforce.

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However, Musk recently cast doubt on the likelihood of removing $2 trillion from the federal budget, saying there was a better chance of cutting $1 trillion.

“I think we’re going to try for $2 trillion. I think it’s like a best-case scenario,” Musk said during the CES tech show Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Post reported. “But I think you have to have some excess. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we have a good shot at $1 trillion.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed support for working with DOGE, and Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, announced the creation of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus on last year

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“Our national debt has surpassed a staggering $36 trillion and should be a wake-up call to all Americans,” Bean, co-chairman of the House DOGE Caucus, said in a statement in November. “We must take action to avoid falling headlong off the cliff of fiscal ruin. I am delighted with President-elect Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE, but taking on Crazy Town will not be an easy task: they will need partners”.

Similarly, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is slated to oversee the Senate DOGE Caucus.

“Finally the tables are turning, the knives are out and the waste is on the chopping block,” Ernst said in a statement in November.

DOGE currently has a staff of roughly 50 people working out of SpaceX’s offices in Washington, D.C., and aims to roughly double that number when President-elect Trump takes office on Jan. 20, according to the Post .

A representative for Ramaswamy declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

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DOGE appears to be the source of inspiration for other similar initiatives at the state level. For example, Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte of the swing state of New Hampshire announced Thursday the creation of the Government Efficiency Commissionknown as COGE.

“COGE will make us smarter than ever when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of our state,” Ayotte said in his opening remarks.