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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Michael Sainato

‘They sowed chaos to no avail’: the lasting legacy of Elon Musk’s Doge

a man holds a chainsaw
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on 20 February 2025. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters

As Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, splurged more than $250m on Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, the US president commissioned his new ally to oversee a sweeping “efficiency” drive across the federal government.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss, who had no experience inside government, was tasked with eradicating waste and cutting spending as part of the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) – and was quick to stoke expectations.

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