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The Conversation
The Conversation
Politics
Allison Stanger, Distinguished Endowed Professor, Middlebury

Efficiency − or empire? How Elon Musk’s hostile takeover could end government as we know it

Elon Musk, right, has moved to take the reins of the U.S. government. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, is on the surface a dramatic effort to overhaul the inefficiencies of federal bureaucracy. But beneath the rhetoric of cost-cutting and regulatory streamlining lies a troubling scenario.

Musk has been appointed what is called a “special government employee” in charge of the White House office formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, which was renamed the U.S. DOGE Service on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term. The Musk team’s purported goals are to maximize efficiency and to eliminate waste and redundancy.

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