Trump charges DOGE with modernizing federal technology and software

DOGE, the whimsically named Department of Government Efficiency proposed by Elon Musk as a way to save $2 trillion in US federal government spending, is now a reality.Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order bringing the DOGE into being by the simple expedient fo renaming the ten-year-old US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service.But DOGE is already the target of three lawsuits alleging that it doesn’t comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), a 1972 law intended to ensure that government advisory committees are accessible to the public and provide objective advice.The USDS was created in August 2014 by President Barack Obama, with the mission “to improve and simplify the digital experience that people have with their government.” Its first administrator was Mikey Dickerson. Over the ten years of its existence, over 700 USDS digital service experts worked with 31 government agencies on over 100 programs to simplify services and reduce spending, including on projects such as the IRS’ Direct File tax filing service, according to its 2024 Impact Report.On Monday, Trump renamed the USDS as the US DOGE Service in an executive order entitled “Establishing and implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’” making it part of the Executive Office of the President. (The old USDS was part of the Office of Management and Budget, itself part of the Executive Office.)Within the renamed USDS, the order creates a temporary organization “dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.” The US DOGE Service Temporary Organization will cease to exist on July 4, 2026.Across government, each agency head will be required to establish a “DOGE Team” consisting of four or more employees within 30 days. The teams will typically consist of a team lead, an engineer, a human resources specialist, and an attorney, and will be expected to coordinate with USDS on implementing the DOGE agenda.As for that agenda, the USDS is expected to “commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems,” and to “promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.”Agency heads, meanwhile, will be expected to take all necessary steps to ensure USDS has “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems,” while USDS “shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards.”The lawsuits targeting DOGE were filed before Trump’s inauguration, and so before publication of the executive order creating DOGE from the existing USDS.One of the complaints, filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Jan. 20 by Public Citizen, Inc., the State Democracy Defenders Fund, and the American Federation of Government Employees, seeks to ensure that DOGE complies with FACA’s requirements for openness and public participation.“President Trump has not [...], acknowledged that DOGE will operate as an advisory committee subject to FACA, that a charter for DOGE must be filed before DOGE can meet or take action, that DOGE’s membership must be fairly balanced, or that DOGE is subject to FACA’s transparency requirements,” the organizations said in their filing.The three organizations note that Trump named billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE during his presidential campaign; now they want representation in DOGE “to advance FACA’s fair-balance requirement.”

DOGE, the whimsically named Department of Government Efficiency proposed by Elon Musk as a way to save $2 trillion in US federal government spending, is now a reality. Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order bringing the DOGE into being by the simple expedient fo renaming the ten-year-old US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service. But DOGE is already the target of three lawsuits alleging that it doesn’t comply with the (FACA), a 1972 law intended to ensure that government advisory committees are accessible to the public and provide objective advice.

The USDS was , with the mission “to improve and simplify the digital experience that people have with their government.” Its . Over the ten years of its existence, over 700 USDS digital service experts worked with 31 government agencies on over 100 programs to simplify services and reduce spending, including on projects such as the IRS’ Direct File tax filing service, according to its .

On Monday, Trump renamed the USDS as the US DOGE Service in an executive order entitled “Establishing and implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’” making it part of the Executive Office of the President. (The old USDS was part of the Office of Management and Budget, itself part of the Executive Office.) Within the renamed USDS, the order creates a temporary organization “dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.

” The US DOGE Service Temporary Organization will cease to exist on July 4, 2026. Across government, each agency head will be required to establish a “DOGE Team” consisting of four or more employees within 30 days. The teams will typically consist of a team lead, an engineer, a human resources specialist, and an attorney, and will be expected to coordinate with USDS on implementing the DOGE agenda.

As for that agenda, the USDS is expected to “commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems,” and to “promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.” Agency heads, meanwhile, will be expected to take all necessary steps to ensure USDS has “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems,” while USDS “shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards.” The lawsuits targeting DOGE were filed before Trump’s inauguration, and so before publication of the executive order creating DOGE from the existing USDS.

One of the complaints, filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Jan. 20 by , seeks to ensure that DOGE complies with FACA’s requirements for openness and public participation. “President Trump has not [.

..], acknowledged that DOGE will operate as an advisory committee subject to FACA, that a charter for DOGE must be filed before DOGE can meet or take action, that DOGE’s membership must be fairly balanced, or that DOGE is subject to FACA’s transparency requirements,” the organizations said in their filing.

The three organizations note that Trump named billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE during his presidential campaign; now they want representation in DOGE “to advance FACA’s fair-balance requirement.”.