Elon Musk’s infamous ‘This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy’ stunt just blew up in Donald Trump’s face, and the official explanation is peak embarassment

President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative launched with huge media fanfare and a symbolic chainsaw stunt, has quietly disbanded with eight months left in its mandate. That’s right, the agency meant to slash federal bureaucracy is gone, and the official explanation for its disappearance is peak political embarrassment.

The shocking news was confirmed by Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor. When asked about DOGE’s status earlier this month, Kupor told Reuters simply, “That doesn’t exist.” He further clarified that the agency is no longer a “centralized entity.” This marks the first public comment from the Trump administration acknowledging DOGE’s complete end.

This outcome is incredibly awkward, especially when you remember the high-profile drama surrounding its launch. Billionaire Elon Musk, who initially led DOGE, spent months touting its work on his X platform. He even made headlines in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, when he brandished a tool above his head and declared, “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”

Musk had previously stated he had a mandate to “delete the mountain” of government regulations and eliminate federal jobs

Despite the initial hype, the administration has been signaling the end of DOGE since the summer. Officials have often talked about the agency in the past tense, even though President Trump had signed an executive order decreeing DOGE would last through July 2026. Acting DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason, whose background is in healthcare tech, formally became an adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy in March.

The dramatic shift is clearest in the policy changes. One of DOGE’s key hallmarks, the government-wide hiring freeze, is officially over. Kupor confirmed that there is “no target around reductions” anymore. Initially, the president had barred federal agencies from hiring new employees, requiring DOGE approval for most exceptions. That aggressive, job-cutting approach is now completely finished.

While DOGE claimed to have slashed tens of billions of dollars in expenditures during its short life, outside financial experts couldn’t verify those massive savings because the unit never provided detailed public accounting of its work.

So, where did the staff and functions go? It seems the federal government’s human resources office, the OPM, has taken over many of DOGE’s core functions. Many prominent DOGE employees have simply migrated to new roles within the administration.

This includes Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb, who was part of Musk’s original DOGE team. Gebbia now heads the National Design Studio, a new body created by an August executive order. The president tasked Gebbia with improving the “visual presentation” of government websites. That’s a massive pivot from radical job cuts to making sure websites look good.

Meanwhile, Musk himself has reappeared in Washington. This week, he attended a White House dinner for Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, suggesting that while the chainsaw for bureaucracy may have sputtered out, the key players are definitely still involved in the capital.