No One Opposed DOGE When Obama Created It

DOGE first existed as United States Digital Service in 2014

By: C.P. Stetsko | February 19, 2025

Read more at https://theblacksphere.net/2025/02/no-one-opposed-doge-when-obama-created-it/

Image: AP

The Ants Are Scurrying

Nothing has upset Democrats nor upended the bureaucratic establishment quite like the recent unleashing of the Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With the Presidency and both Houses of Congress in the hands of Republicans, the only realm of power Democrats maintained was the so-called “fourth” branch American government.

The BBC explains what DOGE’s role is within the Trump Administration:

Doge is not an official government department, which would have had to be established by an act of Congress.

Instead, it came into being through one of Trump’s presidential executive orders, and operates as an advisory body with at least four employees dedicated to each)o government agency.

Part of Doge’s mission, says the order, relates to IT upgrades aimed at boosting efficiency. It must finish its work by July 2026.

Image: Fortune

President Trump and Elon Musk have been reevaluating the size and role of the federal government in American Society. To date in fiscal year 2025, the U.S. government has spent $2.44 trillion with federal outlays totaling $7 trillion, or 23.3% of the GDP. By “following the money” DOGE has been able to audit several federal agencies and has found billions in wasteful spending.

To know how effective something is, just look at who is opposing it. Since its inception, DOGE has been the bane of big-government spending Democrats who have questioned its legality, while filed several states have filed lawsuits to block the organization from carrying out its mandate.

Obama Owned DOGE First!

Image: X

Before it was reconstituted as DOGE, the agency was established in 2014 as the United States Digital Service (USDS) during the Obama Administration. Because USDS was already fully funded and operational, Trump then was able to implement 5 USC 3161, allowing him temporary hiring authority.

NPR adds further details:

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that renames the little-known but highly respected United States Digital Service office as the United States DOGE Service, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort helmed by tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk.

In contrast to the initial announcement of DOGE, focused on federal spending, the workforce and technology infrastructure from “outside the government,” Trump’s Jan. 20 order outlines a temporary organization within the larger USDS office that will be led by a to-be-named administrator.

The order also moves the USDS from the Office of Management and Budget to the Executive Office of the President and directs each federal agency to create a “DOGE Team” that may include a team leader, engineer, human resources specialist and attorney to help facilitate Trump’s “DOGE agenda.”

There were not any Democrats protesting outside of government buildings when Obama and Biden echoed the same ideas of cutting government spending in June 2011:

Fox News observed:

The White House is taking aim at Democratic critics of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), highlighting that the new agency’s work was once championed by prominent Democrats.

Democrats have ramped up their attacks on DOGE and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, over the past week, arguing that Trump’s project is a violation of the Constitution and filing several lawsuits in an effort to bring the new department’s momentum to a halt.

But Leavitt pointed out that many of DOGE’s priorities used to be the same across the aisle, especially for the two most well-known Democratic leaders.

Supporting DOGE

It is said “Imitation is the ultimate form of flattery”; or, “if something right is being done its going to be immolated.” Numerous states have begun implementing their own state-level versions of DOGE to look for and begin eliminating government waste.

While 14 Democrat State government AGs have sued the Trump administration in opposition to DOGE’s auditing of the Treasury Department and the IRS, 20 Republican States have sued in support of the President and the actions that he has been taking.

Currently US District Judge John Bates has ruled that DOGE is an ‘agency’ and has granted the Musk-led agency access to the Departments of Labor, HHS, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In another lawsuit, Judge Tanya Chutkan will decide if DOGE gains access to data of seven more agencies. The Judge said that she was skeptical of plaintiffs arguments, and appears to be leaning towards granting access to Musk’s team.

Trump did warn that he was going “win, and keep winning!”

Presidential Actions

ESTABLISHING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT’S
“DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY”

EXECUTIVE ORDER

January 20, 2025

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.

Sec. 2.  Definitions.  As used in this order:

(a) “Agency” has the meaning given to it in section 551 of title 5, United States Code, except that such term does not include the Executive Office of the President or any components thereof.

(b)  “Agency Head” means the highest-ranking official of an agency, such as the Secretary, Administrator, Chairman, or Director, unless otherwise specified in this order.

Sec. 3.  DOGE Structure.  (a)  Reorganization and Renaming of the United States Digital Service.  The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.

(b)  Establishment of a Temporary Organization.  There shall be a USDS Administrator established in the Executive Office of the President who shall report to the White House Chief of Staff. There is further established within USDS, in accordance with section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, a temporary organization known as “the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization”.  The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall be headed by the USDS Administrator and shall be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.  The U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall terminate on July 4, 2026. The termination of the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization shall not be interpreted to imply the termination, attenuation, or amendment of any other authority or provision of this order.

(c)  DOGE Teams.  In consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator.  Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney.  Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President ‘s DOGE Agenda.

Sec. 4.  Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity.  (a)  The USDS Administrator shall commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.  Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.

(b)  Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.  USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards.

(c)  This Executive Order displaces all prior executive orders and regulations, insofar as they are subject to direct presidential amendment, that might serve as a barrier to providing USDS access to agency records and systems as described above.

Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

      January 20, 2025.