Dem
47
GOP
53
Elon Musk may be gone, but the DOGEys are still there, moving along, doing what DOGEys do: attempting to destroy the federal government from the inside and scoop up data for Elon Musk's (unknown) purposes. Friday's Supreme Court decision will only make their work easier. What Musk did before departing was embed his 20-something hacker kids in many government departments and agencies, sort of like the political commissars in the old Soviet Union. They are not going anywhere and will continue to wreak havoc on the government and country since Donald Trump has probably forgotten they are there. Maybe in a few departments and agencies, the actual head will push back on them, probably not in all of them.
How they are embedded varies from department to department. At the Department of Energy, a DOGEy, Carl Coe, is now chief of staff, meaning that all communications going to Sec. Chris Wright go through the DOGEy filter. At the Department of the Interior, several DOGEys are now regular federal employees. One of them, Tyler Hassen, is now an acting assistant secretary. He has the authority to fire people and cancel contracts without the approval of Sec. Doug Burgum. Who needs a cabinet secretary when you have an acting assistant secretary? Hassen is clever enough to know which way the wind is blowing. He has canceled contracts with Harvard (about earthquake relief) and contracts with Maine (because Trump is in a fight with the state about trans people in sports).
At the EPA, two high-level DOGEys are hard at work trying to destroy the agency. Trump certainly isn't going to get in their way. He hates the EPA even more than he hates the spotted owl. At the Social Security Administration, DOGEys Aram Moghaddassi and Michael Russo are co-chief information officers.
Of course, Trump is extremely mercurial. If the fight with Musk heats up again (for example, because in a ketamine-fueled rage, Musk tweets something Trump doesn't like), Trump could ask Susie Wiles to find and purge all the remaining embedded DOGEys. On the other hand, OMB Director Russell Vought, who sees his mission as decimating the federal government, may use his power to keep them in place and slashing away, even if Trump orders them fired. He won't know the difference anyway.
In addition to slashing budgets and firing federal employees, the DOGEys are still hoovering up data for Musk. They have tried to gain access to over 80 federal data systems while no one is watching. And even when they are caught at it, the Supreme Court may approve (see above item). What Musk wants with the data is not clear. Maybe he wants to train his AI bots on data no one else has. Maybe he wants to spy on his competitors. Who knows?
Another factor that could play a role here is the courts. A lawsuit is pending claiming the entire DOGE operation is unconstitutional because the officers have not been confirmed by the Senate. If that suit succeeds the whole show might have to be shut down and driven out of town. (V)