Trump announces ‘Doge’ advisory group, attracting instant lawsuits

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has officially announced the creation of an advisory group aimed at carrying out dramatic cuts to the US government, attracting immediate lawsuits challenging its operations.

The group – dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or “Doge” – is being

co-run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk

and has grandiose goals of eliminating entire federal agencies and cutting three quarters of federal government jobs.

Failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is a co-chair but has left to run for elected office, Trump spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

A person familiar with Mr Ramaswamy’s plan says he is gearing up to run for governor of Ohio.

“To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand new Department of Government Efficiency,” Mr Trump said in his inaugural speech on Jan 20.

The executive order, announced by the White House late on Jan 20, stated the group’s aim to “modernise federal technology and software”.

Mr Trump told reporters there were plans to hire about 20 individuals to ensure the implementation of the group’s objectives.

However, the committee, despite the name, is not a department and has little official power to carry out any reorganisation, let alone the head-spinning cuts proposed by Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy.

Government employee unions, watchdog groups, and public interest organisations sued within minutes of the announcement.

Among them were National Security Counsellors, which alleged that Doge was breaking a 1972 law that governed federal advisory committees.

So too did the American Public Health Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

Another watchdog group, Public Citizen, is suing over the Doge’s uncertain legal status, along with a union representing US government employees.

Telsa and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuits, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

Advisory committees on cutting government waste are often announced to great fanfare and typically accomplish little of note.

In 1982, then-President Ronald Reagan announced a group composed of “outstanding experts from the private sector” to review the executive branch’s spending.

It ended up delivering its report 18 months late; most of its recommendations were never implemented. REUTERS