House Democrat involved in the Dogecoin Caucus declares the initiative as inactive
In a shake-up of federal agencies, the House and Senate established the DOGE Caucus to work with the Department of Government Efficiency. The caucus, which includes Republican chairs such as Rep. Pete Sessions and Blake Moore, has taken control of key agencies like the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration.
However, the caucus's aggressive approach to cutting government spending, secrecy, and lack of congressional input has led to disputes about its authority and the realism of its announced savings. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, the first Democratic member of the DOGE Caucus, claims that the caucus is defunct and hasn't been involved in any decisions at DOGE.
DOGE's claims of savings, such as terminating contracts and grants, are disputed by experts. The caucus tends to use the total potential value of contracts to estimate savings, an approach considered by federal contracting specialists to be an unrealistic overestimate. Budget experts also suggest DOGE’s cuts are driven more by political ideology than by careful fiscal management, questioning the genuineness of its efficiency agenda.
Oversight issues have arisen as well, with the Government Accountability Office auditing DOGE’s data handling since March 2025, amid allegations of inadequate transparency and management. Wired magazine quoted professional auditors characterizing DOGE’s audit practices as akin to stealing vast government data, underscoring concerns about its secretive and unilateral nature.
Despite these controversies, the DOGE Caucus continues its work. Rep. Aaron Bean, one of the Republican chairs, claims that their work is "just getting started". The caucus has eight specialized working groups preparing legislation to codify critical reforms and unlock savings for the American people. However, Rep. Jared Moskowitz stated in a CNN interview that there has been no discussion about DOGE and that Elon Musk has been doing everything on his own.
Musk's potential word games about his future level of involvement have been noted. Despite not being explicitly mentioned as being associated with DOGE in this context, Moskowitz claims that Musk did everything at DOGE without the caucus's involvement. The controversy also includes DOGE's extensive and largely unchecked authority to alter government operations and spending, its secretive culture, and significant concerns over the adequacy of congressional and professional oversight.
Moreover, DOGE has faced criticism for its actions, such as building a master database to surveil immigrants and firing over 216,000 people. The Partnership for Public Service's analysis found that DOGE likely cost taxpayers $135 billion, but this figure does not include DOGE's lawsuits from former federal employees and watchdog groups over lack of transparency.
In light of these controversies, questions remain about the effectiveness and oversight of the DOGE Caucus and its impact on government operations and spending.
[1] Source: Various news outlets including CNN, NPR, and Wired.
- Despite the DOGE Caucus's ongoing work and ambitious plans for policy-and-legislation, their methods and authority are under scrutiny, with concerns raised about tech-driven decisions, general-news coverage revealing issues of secrecy, inadequate transparency, and unilateral actions.
- The DOGE Caucus's future role in shaping technology policy and government efficiency is uncertain, given critics' claims that its decisions, such as building a master database to surveil immigrants and extensive layoffs, have caused significant losses and orchestrated a lack of transparency, as reported by Wired, CNN, and other news outlets.
- The Mac and Tech debate platform Gizmodo has discussed the controversial work of the DOGE Caucus, criticizing its over-reliance on technology and lack of consultation in key decisions, potentially impacting the future of policy-and-legislation and the direction of technology in the larger context of policy-and-legislation and future-focused tech developments.
