DOGE Administrator Is Named – and It’s Not Musk. How This ‘department’ Works.

The U.S. Digital Service was established within the Executive Office of the President in 2014 after the Obama administration’s failed HealthCare.gov launch. Its goal was to create better user experiences through modern technology. According to the wording of Mr. Trump’s executive order, the mission of the newly renamed service is, “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”

Within the new U.S. DOGE Service, Mr. Trump established the DOGE Service Temporary Organization – which is the effort that Mr. Musk has touted. Its role is to “be dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda.” The temporary organization will expire July 4, 2026, the date Mr. Musk had previously advertised, but the overall U.S. DOGE Service will stay in place.

DOGE has been acting with an unprecedented degree of authority. It has accessed sensitive government data and been given veto power over hiring decisions.

Many of DOGE’s operations have been shrouded in mystery, including the people who have lead roles. Mr. Musk’s influence is evident, yet many had assumed until recently that he was officially in charge, since Mr. Trump has previously said Mr. Musk would “lead” the department.

But in a recent court document, a top White House official revealed that Mr. Musk is not DOGE’s administrator. In fact, he’s not even a DOGE employee. Instead, Mr. Musk is a “special government employee” – essentially a part-time federal employee – and an adviser to the president. Now Ms. Gleason has been publicly named – more than a month since DOGE was launched – as acting administrator.

So, is DOGE’s activity inherently unconstitutional? The answer may depend on where its authority is vested. The White House has not made it clear which individual has final decision-making authority at DOGE.

Thomas Berry, a constitutional scholar at the Cato Institute, says there might not necessarily be a constitutional problem if the department heads are making the ultimate calls. That’s because department heads are already confirmed by Congress. But if it’s Mr. Musk who gets to decide whether to fire officers or to cut spending at agencies, that would be a problem.