Trump expanded the powers of the DOGE agency headed by Musk. How control over government spending will change in the US

The US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, February 26, signed an executive order to expand the authority of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut government spending, part of a sweeping layoff.

The Guardian writes about this.

The new order changes the way public money is spent on contracts, grants, and loans. Government agencies will now have to create a single system to record and explain their spending. This data can be made public for greater transparency.

“This order begins a transformation of federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure transparency in government spending and accountability of government employees to the American public,” the document states.

Elon Musk’s team will oversee this process. DOGE program managers at each institution must report monthly on expenses, including contract payments and travel. But this does not apply to law enforcement, the military, immigration services, and areas related to national security.

What is known about DOGE policy?

After Donald Trump became US president, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was launched in Washington under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk. This structure should increase the efficiency of the American government in a year and a half. As part of the governmentʼs spending cuts, the US government, among other things, suspended aid programs to other countries and offered federal officials the opportunity to resign and receive compensation.

The new order to change spending and control it is part of a much broader White House effort to reduce the number of civil servants.

According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management sent a seven-page memorandum ordering agency leaders to implement “widespread cuts” by March 13 of this year.

"Weʼre downsizing the government. We have to. (...) We have a lot of people who arenʼt doing their jobs," Trump said Wednesday during the first Cabinet meeting.

The new presidential administration has already fired thousands of civil servants who had passed their probationary period but were not yet eligible for civil service protection.

Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency plans to cut up to 65% of its staff. The Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration are also preparing for sharp cuts.

Elon Musk admitted that his department made a mistake in moving too quickly to reduce staff.

Musk admitted that he "accidentally" canceled the Ebola prevention effort, but said funding was restored "immediately".

A representative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) denied Muskʼs statement and said that after Trump froze foreign aid last month, funds to fight Ebola were never allocated.

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