Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency emerges with tech modernization mission
(2025/01/21)
- Reference: 1737430479
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/01/21/doge_us_digital_service_renamed/
- Source link:
US President Donald Trump has re-named the US Digital Service the Department of Government Efficiency and given it a mission to modernize government technology.
The Department (DOGE) is a pet project of Elon Musk, who in a November 2024 [1]article described its mission as “to cut the federal government down to size” through “regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings.” Trump enthusiastically endorsed that vision and promised that creating DOGE would be one of his early actions once he resumed the presidency and that Musk would lead it.
True his word, on Monday US Time issued an [2]Executive Order creating the agency.
[3]
Cost-cutting, however, is not explicitly mentioned in the order, which instead gives DOGE the job of “Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity.”
[4]
[5]
DOGE’s tech-centric mission is reflected in the fact it will inhabit the US Digital Service (USDS), which pursues a mission to “deliver better government services to the American people through technology and design.”
DOGE’s first order of business is to “commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.”
[6]
The Executive Order is a little confusing as while it calls for USDS to be renamed DOGE, it mentions requirements for USDS staff and activities – among them the creation of the post of USDS Administrator in the Executive Office of the President, reporting to the White House Chief of Staff.
That Administrator will head the “U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization” that will reside within DOGE/USDS and “be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.” The temporary org will terminate on July 4, 2026.
The USDS Administrator will “work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.”
[7]
Those Agency Heads must ensure USDS “has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.”
[8]All bark, no bite? Musk's DOGE unlikely to have any real power
[9]China ever-so slightly softens stance on possible US TikTok sale
[10]Trump's freshly minted meme coin passes $10B market cap
[11]CISA: Wow, that election had a lot of foreign trolling. Trump's Homeland Sec pick: And that's none of your concern
The Order also outlines a requirement for every government agency to create a “DOGE Team” that will work on implementing Trump’s “DOGE Agenda”. That section of the Order makes no mention of tech, so could perhaps be an element of DOGE’s wider cost-cutting mission.
The Order suggests DOGE will focus on improving government tech and applications, with interoperability of special interest.
Like most large organizations, government agencies often develop sprawling IT estates and find themselves locked into suppliers, operating silos, and keeping things running with the digital equivalents of string and wire.
Given the Federal Government is a colossal consumer of business technology, DOGE will likely find poor procurement practises and wasteful spending, sub-optimal systems, clunky apps that make workers jump through hoops, and all the other horrors that accrete over time.
How DOGE will use the info it gathers about the state of Federal tech is not explained by the Order. Musk and Trump’s past remarks about cutting wasteful spending suggest tech vendors may have to defend some deals. DOGE’s focus on improved productivity hints at the chance for vendors to win new work, and for Federal Government technologists to see their to-do lists lengthen.
DOGE ran into trouble even before the Executive Order was published, as a collection of public interest advocacy groups filed a [12]lawsuit [PDF] that argues the body doesn’t meet the transparency requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.wsj.com/opinion/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/14/all_bark_no_bite_musks/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/21/president_trump_tech_actions_tiktok/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/20/trump_meme_coin/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/18/cisa_election_security_isnt_political/
[12] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.276598/gov.uscourts.dcd.276598.1.0.pdf
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The Department (DOGE) is a pet project of Elon Musk, who in a November 2024 [1]article described its mission as “to cut the federal government down to size” through “regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings.” Trump enthusiastically endorsed that vision and promised that creating DOGE would be one of his early actions once he resumed the presidency and that Musk would lead it.
True his word, on Monday US Time issued an [2]Executive Order creating the agency.
[3]
Cost-cutting, however, is not explicitly mentioned in the order, which instead gives DOGE the job of “Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity.”
[4]
[5]
DOGE’s tech-centric mission is reflected in the fact it will inhabit the US Digital Service (USDS), which pursues a mission to “deliver better government services to the American people through technology and design.”
DOGE’s first order of business is to “commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.”
[6]
The Executive Order is a little confusing as while it calls for USDS to be renamed DOGE, it mentions requirements for USDS staff and activities – among them the creation of the post of USDS Administrator in the Executive Office of the President, reporting to the White House Chief of Staff.
That Administrator will head the “U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization” that will reside within DOGE/USDS and “be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.” The temporary org will terminate on July 4, 2026.
The USDS Administrator will “work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.”
[7]
Those Agency Heads must ensure USDS “has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.”
[8]All bark, no bite? Musk's DOGE unlikely to have any real power
[9]China ever-so slightly softens stance on possible US TikTok sale
[10]Trump's freshly minted meme coin passes $10B market cap
[11]CISA: Wow, that election had a lot of foreign trolling. Trump's Homeland Sec pick: And that's none of your concern
The Order also outlines a requirement for every government agency to create a “DOGE Team” that will work on implementing Trump’s “DOGE Agenda”. That section of the Order makes no mention of tech, so could perhaps be an element of DOGE’s wider cost-cutting mission.
The Order suggests DOGE will focus on improving government tech and applications, with interoperability of special interest.
Like most large organizations, government agencies often develop sprawling IT estates and find themselves locked into suppliers, operating silos, and keeping things running with the digital equivalents of string and wire.
Given the Federal Government is a colossal consumer of business technology, DOGE will likely find poor procurement practises and wasteful spending, sub-optimal systems, clunky apps that make workers jump through hoops, and all the other horrors that accrete over time.
How DOGE will use the info it gathers about the state of Federal tech is not explained by the Order. Musk and Trump’s past remarks about cutting wasteful spending suggest tech vendors may have to defend some deals. DOGE’s focus on improved productivity hints at the chance for vendors to win new work, and for Federal Government technologists to see their to-do lists lengthen.
DOGE ran into trouble even before the Executive Order was published, as a collection of public interest advocacy groups filed a [12]lawsuit [PDF] that argues the body doesn’t meet the transparency requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.wsj.com/opinion/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z48p-grroCZoV3csRxcxJQAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/14/all_bark_no_bite_musks/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/21/president_trump_tech_actions_tiktok/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/20/trump_meme_coin/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/18/cisa_election_security_isnt_political/
[12] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.276598/gov.uscourts.dcd.276598.1.0.pdf
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"chief magistrate of Venice"
Bebu sa Ware
Somehow I don't think any of the Medici would be flattered by even the most oblique comparison with Trump, Musk or the rest of the MAGA rabble.
Indeed if any of them were extant I would be very careful of what I ate and drank, after making such comparison... certainly avoiding dark alleys.
This lot - less il Principe more il Pagliacco .
Giga
HereIAmJH
Could they license Elmo (from Sesame Street) to use as their mascot?
Now, how long before we start naming government facilities GIGA-
Although there is one bit of efficiency I would support. Get the US government out of the fucking public cloud. There is no reason an organization the size of pretty much every federal agency shouldn't be hosting their own cloud. How about this, USDS could build a huge cloud datacenter, 100 percent operated by Federal employees, and provide cloud services for the rest of the US Federal government. (just as long as they don't call it US GigaCloud)
A magistral maneuver
Way to go! Per " Sec. 3. DOGE Structure ": "The United States Digital Service [(USDS)] is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS)". And next up, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) could be publicly renamed as the United States Energy Production Agency (USEPA) ... brilliant! Saves money on signposts without sowing undue confusion (or not?).
The obliquely coupled medieval chief magistrate of Venice or Genoa couldn't be prouder (in all of its four-letter crossword glory).