A government agency named after Dogecoin, arriving with Elon Musk's chainsaw and promises to reshape America, has quietly disappeared before its time. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established on Trump's first day in office, was quietly dissolved with eight months remaining in his term. Recently, Scott Cooper, the head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, publicly confirmed for the first time: "It no longer exists." DOGE lasted only 294 days from its inception to its dissolution, a lifespan strikingly similar to the short-lived Meme coin in the cryptocurrency market. Its name directly borrowed from the Dogecoin code, and its official website featured a Shiba Inu image. Musk has even held a chainsaw to symbolize cutting bureaucracy; this highly symbolic communication strategy is less a government agency and more a typical narrative-driven political experiment. The birth of meme culture. On January 20, 2025, the day Trump was sworn in, he signed an executive order to establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This name is very familiar to the crypto community. Musk, a long-time supporter of Dogecoin, cleverly incorporated cryptocurrency memes into the political sphere. DOGE's official website design is full of crypto cultural elements, including the familiar Dogecoin logo and symbols composed of Shiba Inu images. This deconstructs the seriousness of government institutions and breaks down the stereotypes of traditional bureaucratic systems. Musk's promotion of the X platform further reinforces this meme-like quality. His photo of himself holding a chainsaw, captioned "A chainsaw for bureaucracy," resembles a radical slogan commonly found in the cryptocurrency world. This dissemination strategy is strikingly similar to his approach when promoting Dogecoin. DOGE's naming and communication strategy reflects a new form of political communication, borrowing from internet memes to subvert tradition with a sense of humor, attempting to win over the younger generation and digital natives. DOGE's operations completely deviate from the traditional model of government agencies, resembling more of a Silicon Valley startup. Musk recruited about 50 young people in their 20s; this team, dubbed "baby soldiers," wore hoodies and jeans, looking nothing like traditional government employees. The youthfulness of the team has led to an aggressive work style. They rely on Red Bull for energy, rushing between various workplaces daily, and within just three weeks, they have placed personnel in major federal agencies, controlling the flow of funds and screening contract projects. AI technology has become a core tool for DOGE. The team uses AI to carry out basic optimization work, digitizing everything from contract payments to employee travel expense reimbursements. AI tools quickly analyzed areas of resource waste and potential for optimization. For example, they promptly terminated leases on vacant government office buildings, saving $150 million. This "quick action, breaking with convention" Silicon Valley spirit sparked intense conflict in Washington's political landscape. The DOGE team required federal employees to submit weekly reports, threatening those who failed to do so with the equivalent of resignation and declaring administrative leave for absences. This created a disconnect between narrative and reality. The DOGE division initially set ambitious goals; Musk claimed it would cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, and Ramaswamy even proposed optimizing 70% of federal government employees. These figures are similar to the exaggerated claims common in the cryptocurrency space, designed to attract attention and generate buzz. However, reality quickly revealed its limitations. Although DOGE claimed to have cut approximately $160 billion in spending, this was less than one-fifth of Musk's previously announced goals. A serious disconnect emerged between the grand narrative and actual execution. A report released by Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) states that the Department of Energy (DOGE) "wasted" over $21 billion in public funds over a six-month period. The report points out that the suspension of some projects resulted in significant losses; the freezing of Department of Energy loan projects caused the government to lose approximately $263 million in interest income; and the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) resulted in approximately $110 million worth of food and medicine rotting in warehouses. The DOGE's operational methods have sparked widespread backlash. Democratic attorneys general from 14 states have sued Musk and Trump, accusing Trump of violating the constitutional appointment clause by granting Musk power. DOGE faces nearly 20 lawsuits, including allegations of violating privacy laws and unauthorized access to sensitive government data. The Demise of the White House Meme: From its high-profile debut to its quiet exit, the dissolution of DOGE stands in stark contrast to its birth. In May of this year, Musk announced his resignation from DOGE, clashing with Trump over the "Big and Beautiful" bill. (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) Public Breakdown. During the summer, DOGE personnel gradually withdrew from headquarters, and guard posts and authorized access signs disappeared. This month, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Cooper publicly confirmed for the first time that DOGE no longer exists and its functions have been taken over by the Office of Personnel Management. The government-wide hiring freeze, once a hallmark of DOGE, has also ended. Members of the DOGE team have taken on new roles within the government: Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia heads the National Design Studio; Zachary Terrell becomes the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services. This symbolizes the end of DOGE as an experimental attempt, but some of its ideas are being incorporated into traditional government structures. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis commented on social media platform X, "DOGE fought Swamp, but Swamp won." This political meme experiment ultimately ended in a victory for traditional political structures. Symbolic economics is permeating traditional political spheres. Although the DOGE experiment ended prematurely, it signifies that the deep integration of politics and crypto culture is irreversible. In the future, we may see more political institutions and governance models with "crypto-native" characteristics. The key lies in how to combine the innovative spirit of the crypto world with the stability of traditional governance to create new models that possess both symbolic appeal and substantial effectiveness. While narrative is a powerful tool for building consensus, narratives divorced from technological implementation and value creation are ultimately just castles in the air. When the hype surrounding memes fades, what truly remains in the industry are the technologies and projects that solve real-world problems.
Aaron
YouQuan
Hui Xin
Joy
Brian
Alex