Editor’s note: In part one of Liberty Nation News’ DOGE series, we discussed how the USDS was created by President Barack Obama and has been funded by Congress for the last ten years. In part two, we tackled the tsunami of legal cases and rhetoric. In the third part, we examine the future of the department.
“The final step of @DOGE is to delete itself,” wrote Elon Musk on Dec. 2 last year. That’s not an ambition – it's a built-in feature of the executive order that turned the United States Digital Service into the United States DOGE Service. In fact, come Independence Day next year, it will be lights out for President Donald Trump’s efficiency machine, regardless of whether it has accomplished its goal. This self-imposed deadline, however, is far more than just a random expiration date.
Beyond Symbolism
July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of when the Declaration of Independence was signed – America’s birthday. There is little doubt that, come that day, the president will speak to all Americans, setting forth the nation’s achievements and those of his administration. Almost one and half years of DOGE efforts – if the current trajectory holds – indicate a potential saving of $1.8 trillion ($100 billion per month).
Coupled with the current congressional efforts to create a budget reconciliation package that limits the pork – and the effective elimination of federal departments through defunding – Trump will be focused on the bragging rights that come with massive savings. This appears to be a whole-of-government approach, and such movements tend to create momentum once they get started.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the midterm elections fall in 2026, and the qualifying date for candidates lands around the end of July. The Republican Party will be defending 22 of the 35 Senate seats that are up for grabs (20 class 2 seats and two class 3 seats to finish out JD Vance’s Ohio term and Marco Rubio’s Florida term). This is almost the precise opposite of the 2024 election, which had an inbuilt disadvantage for Democrats.
This congressional equation brings some heavy baggage.
It’s Now or Never, DOGE
Should the GOP lose control of either the Senate or the House (or both), DOGE’s mission is essentially dead in the water. Legislation could potentially halt all operations and efforts. Trump has given the outfit roughly 18 months to finish its work because it may not have the option once midterm voting starts.
With the congressional elections in mind, it would be a major boost to all Republican candidates if Trump and Musk can demonstrate with hard, cold numbers that they have reversed the trend of profligate spending, which has been a hallmark of the federal government. Candidates can take to the streets with the message that they are cutting waste, minimizing costs, removing pork, and being good stewards of those precious tax dollars.
And, of course, continued majorities in either chamber would prevent the indignity of Trump becoming a lame-duck president two years into his last term.
A Future in DC?
Multiple challenges to the actions and existence of DOGE are underway in American courts. These kinds of lawsuits may be, at best, stopgaps. The president and his Republican majority in Congress are preparing to pass next year’s federal budget, which could codify the spending cuts that Trump is trying to impose unilaterally. Yet the barrage of suits provides a sense of urgency in light of the agency's fast-approaching expiration date.
What remains is whether DOGE will be brought back after Independence Day 2026. If it proves successful and, more importantly, politically popular with the electorate, it could make a comeback. After Trump’s first victory back in 2016, Wired asked: “Even if the new administration continues the programs, would idealistic coders and designers come to Washington to work for Donald Trump?”
That question has been answered. Not only have the coders come, but they appear obsessed with completing the mission assigned. As Silicon Valley tries to wrestle free of the onerous Californian guardrails, the nation’s capital has a chance to become the new tech-centric city on the hill – but only if there’s an appetite for innovation from those who run the motherboard.
