Elon Musk's DOGE agency is at the centre of controversy in the US. So what is it?

By Jesmine Cheong, ABC

Explainer - It's not a cryptocurrency or the renowned internet meme.

But Elon Musk's DOGE has been making global headlines recently, sparking questions around why the world's richest person has decided to centre himself in US politics.

The creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was the next step in the so-called bromance between the billionaire and US President Donald Trump.

And Trump put more power into the hands of the tech mogul by signing an executive order this week, enforcing all federal agencies to cooperate with DOGE.

It's escalated the legal fight over Musk's influence in the White House, with a group of state attorneys-general alleging the president gave Musk "unchecked legal authority" without Congress's approval.

But, what is this new agency and what is Elon Musk's end game?

What is Elon Musk's DOGE?

Trump created DOGE in a barrage of executive orders that he signed on 20 January.

The agency's main task is to slash federal spending, with the president appointing Musk as his cost-cutting tsar.

DOGE was originally headed by Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, but Ramaswamy left DOGE amid plans to run for governor of Ohio.

The pair promised to cut billions from the federal budget and usher in "mass headcount reductions across the federal bureaucracy".

Despite the name, this new task force isn't a government department.

This means this agency plays more of an advisory role, rather than being an official department established through Congress, with Trump saying it will "provide advice and guidance from outside of government".

The White House has also said Musk is a special government employee, meaning he doesn't get paid and is only allowed to work 130 days or fewer in a year.

This essentially allows Musk to work for the federal government, while possibly avoiding disclosure rules about conflicts of interest and finances that apply to regular government employees.

What has DOGE done under the Trump administration?

Since Trump established the task force, Musk has dispatched members of DOGE to scrutinise sensitive personnel and payment information in government systems.

The agency claims to have saved taxpayers $US37.69 billion (NZ$65.73b) since starting its work. However, it hasn't provided evidence to support that figure.

This massive government makeover has led to concerns about the president trying to secure more loyalists within federal agencies.

Former Congressional Budget Office director Republican Douglas Holtz-Eakin has said Musk and the president are not going into agencies that they like, but rather "agencies they disagree with".

But the White House has insisted that DOGE is "extremely transparent," sharing examples of its work so far such as cancelling contracts and ending leases for underused buildings.

And Musk made a rare appearance in the Oval Office this week to defend the agency's extensive cuts.

But what are some of the main things DOGE has done so far?

What is Elon Musk's end game?

It's the big question many have been wondering, but no one really knows the answer.

Griffith University political scientist Dr Lee Morgenbesser believes the billionaire is trying to enrich himself by being around the president.

The State Department had been in talks with Musk's Tesla to buy armoured electric vehicles, but the plans were put on hold after reports about a potential $US400 million purchase emerged.

Morgenbesser said Musk's access to key systems is a "massive conflict [of] interest" but it's something the president seems to be fine with.

"He's positioning his corporations and those of other billionaires that support Trump to be the first in the pecking order, a seat at the table, so to speak," he said.

"And so they will enrich themselves, even if they are not the best corporation or company to do the work that [the] United States government is paying him to do."

US journalist Kara Swisher has interviewed Musk several times.

She agrees with Morgenbesser, believing the billionaire is hoping to gain "unprecedented power for himself, his companies and his cronies".

"Elon is the heavy. Elon does the dirty work, and then they go from there," she told ABC Radio National's Fran Kelly.

"So it's really hard for me to imagine why he's not useful to Donald Trump because he has the money which he can threaten congresspeople with … they have an ability to … scare people."

Is Elon Musk orchestrating a coup?

In its simplest terms, a coup is defined as a sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power, especially by part of an army.

Swisher describes the actions of Musk as a "quiet coup".

The word coup has been thrown around by experts recently as the billionaire has made his way into the White House.

But Morgenbesser said Musk's recent actions under DOGE qualify as state capture, a process where private entities use their power to influence policies and regulations to benefit their own interests.

Morgenbesser said the best way to think of this process is "like legalised corruption".

He adds that Musk hasn't shown an intention to "violently remove Trump from office", but he warns that state capture is still concerning.

"You have worse decisions by those that are put in power," he said.

"You also have less accountability and less transparency about decisions … less decisions made in the public good and more decisions made for the benefit of sort of this kleptocratic class of billionaires."

What can we expect next from DOGE?

Morgenbesser expects DOGE to go into some of the bigger government departments next, such as defence.

With growing criticism about the lack of information around DOGE, he said the task force will likely also "get more organised on how they sell things to the American people".

And Morgenbesser believes there are going to be more tech billionaires getting involved with DOGE over the next few months.

"I think there's a big role to play in terms of artificial intelligence … a lot of the AI companies are going to start positioning themselves to be the answer to the problem that Musk is trying to fix," he said.

"So once you gut the federal bureaucracy, you then have to retool it, rebuild it, reform it in some way.

"I think companies are going to be lining up to do that, with the caveat that those companies are loyal to Trump."

- ABC