Prior to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the House and Senate formed caucuses with the intention of collaborating with the newly established Department of Government Efficiency. However, since its inception, DOGE has consistently evaded safeguards and oversight. Recently, a House member has stated that the DOGE Caucus is no longer functioning. Nevertheless, even if the caucus is indeed defunct, DOGE itself continues to operate.

In a recent interview with Politico, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), the first Democratic member of the House DOGE caucus, declared, “The DOGE caucus is dead. It’s defunct. We haven’t met in months. We only had two total meetings in five months.”

Moskowitz revealed that the caucus’s three Republican chairs, Reps. Aaron Bean (Fla.), Pete Sessions (Texas), and Blake Moore (Utah), had assured lawmakers that they would have a role in DOGE’s decision-making process. He stated, “They told us that they were going to work with us. They told us these things would come through Congress. None of it happened.”

Moskowitz alleged that the caucus “[wasn’t] involved at all in anything [happening at DOGE]” and “Musk did it all on his own.” These comments mirror his previous statements in a CNN interview, where he said, “we were told this is where the discussion is going to happen…There’s been no discussion. Elon’s been doing it all himself.” Shortly before, Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle (Ore.) left the caucus due to concerns over Musk’s tactics.

Although Moskowitz described DOGE as “a complete failure,” not everyone shares his sentiment. According to Politico, caucus co-chair Bean stated that their work is “just getting started.” He added, “Congress can enact long-term change, and our 100 committed members and eight specialized working groups are working to codify critical reforms and preparing legislation that will unlock savings for the American people.”

However, Moskowitz’s statements are not particularly surprising. It should have been clear from the outset that the caucus would not wield significant power. Its primary function is to support DOGE’s initiatives. As described on its website, the DOGE caucus “lead[s] government efficiency initiatives” in the House, and Bean’s introductory statement notes that “taking on Crazy Town will be no easy task – they will need partners.”

In a short span, DOGE has expanded into federal agencies, resulting in the termination of over 216,000 employees, attempts to dismantle numerous agencies, the collection of data from various agencies to build a master database for surveilling immigrants, and more. Lately, DOGE has faced challenges in justifying its existence, with Musk’s initial promise of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget being reduced to $150 billion.

DOGE’s website claims that it has saved $170 billion through workforce reductions, contract and grant cancellations, and other measures. However, an NPR report found that these figures do not add up. Furthermore, an analysis by the Partnership for Public Service discovered that DOGE likely cost taxpayers $135 billion. It is essential to note that this analysis does not account for the additional costs associated with DOGE’s lawsuits, including those filed by former federal employees and multiple watchdog groups that sued over the agency’s lack of transparency. Musk Watch, a group tracking DOGE’s activities, estimates that the actual savings are around $16 billion.

Recently, DOGE appears to be losing momentum after Musk announced his plans to step back. Nevertheless, Musk’s potential semantic manipulation regarding his future involvement aside, DOGE has already caused significant damage in a short period. Even if Musk’s direct involvement decreases, the agency will continue to operate. DOGE’s under-qualified and unvetted teams will remain in place. Moreover, even if the agency were to disappear tomorrow, it would take time to rectify the damage caused by DOGE’s actions.