Is Barack Obama the real founder of DOGE? Let’s find out! Today, the current American political scenario screams two names: Donald Trump and Elon Musk! Upon his return to the White House, Donald Trump introduced the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) on January 20, 2025. The department’s purpose is to rebrand and repurpose America’s digital services.
Trump made Musk the head of DOGE, and the duo are working together to bring significant changes to America’s digital space. It is now reported that DOGE was allegedly formed President Barack Obama in 2014 to modernize government technology. The recent speculation claims that Trump renamed DOGE after it was established by President Obama rather than coming up with a new aspect of the initiative.
As per a Yahoo Report, social media users claimed that it was Barack Obama who first launched the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) in 2014 to bring out the government inefficiencies in the digital space, but Trump changed the name of the initiative to the DOGE acronym, funding, and structure, giving it a new mission focused on government efficiency and responsibility, which he assigned to Elon Musk.
While it is uncertain whether this entire allegation that Trump just changed the department’s name is true, this claim first appeared in February 6, 2025, Substack article by attorney Tom Renz, who had allegedly spread misinformation earlier. While it is true that Obama created the department in 2014 and Donald Trump introduced DOGE in January 2025, the two entities differ.
USDS began to improve the condition of government digital space and technology; on the other hand, Trump’s DOGE aims to streamline operations, cut spending, and reduce waste that harms the environment.
Obviously, @DOGE is trying to STOP your tax dollars from being stolen for WASTE and FRAUD. @RepJeffries wants that to continue. https://t.co/Iyv12Wn36P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2025
Musk wrote that DOGE “is trying to stop your tax dollars from being stolen for waste and fraud.” He called it “the wood chipper for bureaucracy.” DOGE’s responsibilities include tracking federal spending, overseeing hiring, etc.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump established DOGE on the day of his inauguration and moved it from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the Executive Office of the President. The order also created temporary DOGEs within federal agencies that support its mission. In addition to Elon Musk, the department leader and a White House employee, Amy Gleason, was assigned as the acting administrator.
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Therefore, while DOGE may be inspired by Barack Obama’s USDS, the department’s purpose and methods of execution under Trump-Musk leadership are very different from Obama’s. Despite controversies, it plays an important role in the American political space to shape government operations.
