The Trump administration has recently issued a new executive order (EO) that directs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative advised by Elon Musk aimed at reducing federal spending, to establish a “centralized technological system” within each agency for tracking contract and grant awards.

As these systems are implemented, employees in agencies who approve individual contract and grant payments will be required to provide a written justification for their approvals. According to the EO, agency heads will have the authority to “pause and rapidly review” any payment that lacks a justification from the approving employee.

The EO also mandates that agency heads, with the assistance of DOGE, develop systems to “centrally record” approvals for federally funded travel related to conferences and other purposes deemed “non-essential”. Once these systems are operational, agency employees will need to submit written justifications for their travel expenses related to conferences and “non-essential” purposes, as outlined in the order.

This move represents the latest expansion of DOGE’s broad powers to oversee federal spending activities. Earlier this month, DOGE sent an email to federal employees requesting that they detail their accomplishments from the previous week, with the implication of termination for non-compliance. It has been reported that DOGE intends to use the submitted information to feed into an AI algorithm designed to assess whether an employee’s work is mission-critical or not.

DOGE was established through an executive order signed by President Trump on January 20, which involved renaming the U.S. Digital Service to DOGE and appointing teams of “special government employees” across various federal agencies. Comprised primarily of young, private-sector employees from Musk’s businesses and associates, DOGE has largely operated without oversight, raising questions about the adherence to cybersecurity and privacy practices.