Welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast, the world's authority
on Tesla, SpaceX, X Neurolink, and all things Elon.
I'm your host, Will Walden. Thanks to our amazing community
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Thank you so much. Elon Musk is stepping back from
official government work, but the agency he built, DOGE, or
the Department of Government Efficiency, is gaining more
power. Could this quiet takeover of
federal systems continue long after he's gone?
Now this is how DOGE embedded itself in nearly every major US
agency. What is doing to federal jobs
and services and why Elon Musk is leaving?
And it doesn't actually change the impact it's having at all.
Doge didn't slow down, it's just stopping making headlines now.
DOGE was created under Trump with one goal, eliminate waste.
But in just four months it did much more than that.
It placed Musk aligned staff to the positions of actual
authority, people with badges, security clearance, and also
control of sensitive systems. Doge staff.
They don't operate like regular employees somewhere on short
contracts. Others are placed permanently.
They rotate access through multiple agencies, and they hold
multiple titles. That flexibility allows them to
move fast and bypass normal procedures now.
Musk's absence raises a critical question, though.
Who's actually accountable now? Some cabinet secretaries have
tried to limit Doge's influence. But without Musk drawing
attention, DOGE can act more freely and with less public
resistance. The disruption is already clear.
In Trump's first 100 days, over 120,000 federal workers were
laid off or targeted. Agencies scrambled to
reorganize. Some workers took buyouts.
Others were relocated or fired. Entire departments were thrown
into confusion. And DOGE isn't just about
cutting staff, though. It's changing how the government
handles fraud, benefits and public data.
A shift effects millions of people who rely on these
services to function reliably. Its influence is especially
visible at the Social Security Administration.
At least 11 DOGE staffers now work there, some with direct
ties to Elon Musk, running fraud audits, managing software
updates and triggering lawsuits over data access.
Inside these agencies, career staff describe tension and
isolation. DOGE workers shut their doors,
avoid communication. Sometimes they don't share any
plans until they're already underway.
The secrecy is deepened. Internal divides now.
Agencies have now submitted their plans for Phase 2 of DOGE.
More layoffs, more reorganizations and broader
access to internal systems. The administration wants the
Supreme Court to approve those firings by late 2025.
Despite that, some officials admit DOGE has uncovered data
that helps prevent fraud. The Government Accountability
Office, or the GAO acknowledge gains in identifying improper
payments. But those benefits come with
serious trade-offs, especially when transparency is missing.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has reduced his own role, saying he'll spend
one to two days a week on government work.
His allies say DOGE can keep operating just fine.
They call him the booster rocket.
His part is done, and now the mission continues.
Now, Democrats built early opposition around Musk
personally. He plastered his face on posters
and called him President Musk. But now they're shifting focus
to Doge itself, arguing his decisions are causing lasting
damage that needs to be fixed. Now.
Musk may no longer be in the building, but the people that he
installed, the systems that he changed, and the chaos he set in
motion are still very active. And now Doge isn't going
anywhere. I want to say thank you so much
for tuning into the show today. I really do appreciate your
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And I'll see you tomorrow.