Elon Musk’s chaotic stint at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is finally over. 

Brought in by Donald Trump to disrupt Washington, Musk promised he’d make the government faster, leaner, and smarter. Instead, he attacked the services meant to keep Americans safe and healthy, protecting his own wealth while the people most in need were left with broken systems and fewer protections.

Despite all the noise about cost-cutting and reform, Musk didn’t reduce government spending. He didn’t improve how agencies run. And he certainly didn’t make life better for ordinary Americans.

What he did do was gut agencies that protect people, illegally meddle in programs he didn’t like, and hand over sensitive government systems to unqualified DOGE staffers. He advanced Trump’s authoritarian agenda, weakened public institutions, and left behind a government that’s more corrupt, more chaotic, and more expensive to clean up.

So as we turn the page on Musk’s time in government, let’s be clear-eyed about the legacy he leaves behind. Not one of efficiency – but of destruction.

The Richest Man in the World Makes a Power Grab

Musk’s entry into public “service” didn’t come from an election or his expertise – it came from his checkbook. 

After he bankrolled Trump’s 2024 campaign, Musk was rewarded with unprecedented control over the U.S. bureaucracy, with no Senate confirmation required. He rebranded the U.S. Digital Service to become the “U.S. DOGE Service” and set out on his mission to tear down the systems that keep America running.

Musk made a lot of promises about what he would do with all that power – but what did he actually accomplish? 

What Musk Didn’t Do

Let’s start with what he didn’t accomplish, because the results speak for themselves.

• Musk didn’t reduce government spending. In fact, government spending has gone up by 6 to 7 percent compared to last year. 
• He didn’t make things more efficient, either. By attacking programs that actually help people – like consumer protections, Social Security, and international aid – he created some really expensive problems. Now, it will take even more resources to undo the damage. 
• He misrepresented how much money DOGE was even “saving.” Journalists found that the public ledger that Musk and his team put out was riddled with errors, including saying it saved “$8 billion” on a contract when it was actually “$8 million.”
• He wasted years of work and investment by cancelling science and research programs before they could deliver results. That’s like pulling the crop before it’s ready to harvest. All of the time, money, and energy that’s been spent? Gone. 
• He depleted the talent in our federal workforce. So many dedicated and highly qualified civil servants were pushed out of the federal government by Musk’s slash-and-burn HR policies, and those who are still working are now left to pick up the pieces. 

What Musk Did Do

That’s not to say Musk did nothing. He did a lot – just not for the benefit of everyday Americans. What he did was use his power to help himself, his companies, and his political allies.

• Musk helped advance Trump’s authoritarian agenda and normalized a culture of impunity. He pushed the boundaries of what one powerful billionaire can do inside the federal government, with no accountability and no public mandate. With Trump, he defied the rule of law and set a dangerous example of how much damage one person can do if no one stops them.
• He weakened the agencies responsible for public oversight and corporate accountability. Musk stripped down watchdogs like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and parts of the Department of Justice (DOJ)—institutions designed to fight corruption and hold powerful actors in check. 
• He shut down USAID, an independent agency that delivers aid around the world during natural disasters, wars, and humanitarian crises. He fired or suspended over a thousand workers, froze funding without legal authority, and blocked support to people in need, just to push his anti-globalist views.
• He put our sensitive data at risk. Under Musk, DOGE gained access to sensitive government systems – sometimes even the power to change records. One mistake or hack could’ve led to a major disaster.

The Bottom Line

Musk didn’t come to Washington to make the government work better for us. He came to tear it down and protect himself. He used DOGE to score political points, silence watch dogs, and funnel power away from the people and toward the wealthy and connected.

He didn’t drain the swamp. He undermined systems of accountability and left a mess of corruption, chaos, and dysfunction that the rest of us will have to clean up.