There are already some signals about which government expenses could be on the chopping block for Elon Musk's DOGE.

Musk isn’t introducing a novel idea. For years, people have advocated eliminating the penny, as pennies are rarely spent as change. And since the Covid-19 pandemic, more consumers are shopping online or avoiding physical currency altogether .

A penny-pinching tactic proposed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency could be getting rid of the penny itself.

A former USDS employee called the repurposing of the Digital Service into DOGE an “A+ bureaucratic jiujitsu move.” It will give Musk and his associates access to unclassified data in every government agency.

DOGE builds on the United States Digital Service, now rebranded as the U.S. DOGE Service. According to Trump's executive order, the newly rebranded department will cut red tape and streamline government IT systems. Per the EO, DOGE has roughly 18 months (July 4, 2026) to achieve the administration's goal.

A lawsuit was filed against Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s new nongovernmental entity as soon as Donald Trump was officially president.

I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting 1 [trillion],” Musk said in a January interview.

Elon Musk's plan for the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may be in disarray following a number of changes to the initiative in recent days. Bill McGinley, who was appointed DOGE's legal counsel in December,