A group of unpaid billionaires, tech executives, and some followers of the influential Republican donor Peter Thiel, are preparing to take on unofficial roles in the U.S. government in the name of cost-cutting. President-elect Donald J. Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is gearing up to send individuals with ties to its co-leaders, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to various federal agencies. These Silicon Valley-influenced, wide-eyed recruits will be deployed to the alphabet soup of agencies in Washington. The aim is for most major agencies to eventually have two DOGE representatives, as they seek to cut costs like Mr. Musk did at X, his social media platform. The story is based on interviews with about a dozen people who have insight into DOGE’s operations. They spoke to The Times under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. President Trump has said the effort would bring ‘drastic change,’ and that the entity would provide outside advice on how to cut wasteful spending. DOGE itself will have no power to cut spending; that authority lies with Congress. Instead, it is expected to provide recommendations for programs and other areas to cut.
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