DeSantis claims ‘the Swamp’ killed Trump’s DOGE initiative that promised to save Americans trillions

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed “the Swamp” for the early disbandment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Trump administration initiative formerly spearheaded by Elon Musk.
“DOGE fought the Swamp and the Swamp won,” DeSantis said Sunday in a post on X, referencing President Donald Trump’s “drain the swamp” campaign slogan.
Earlier Sunday, Reuters reported that DOGE had been dissolved with eight months still remaining on its contract. Musk initially led the agency, calling it “the chainsaw for bureaucracy,” until stepping down in May.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has taken over many of DOGE’s functions, according to Reuters. It will no longer function as a “centralized agency,” said OPM Director Scott Kupor.
Trump in January established DOGE by executive order in an effort to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity” and “bring accountability and transparency to federal spending.”
Musk had claimed the department could trim at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, readjusting that target to $1 trillion ahead of Trump’s inauguration in January. According to DOGE’s website, the department had secured $214 billion in savings as of Oct. 4.
However, DOGE routinely provided false or misleading estimates of how much money it was allegedly saving Americans by cutting jobs and canceling government contracts.
An analysis by CBS News found that DOGE was overstating the savings from some of the largest cuts by as much as 97%. And in September, the General Services Administration asked hundreds of federal employees to return to work after they lost their jobs in DOGE’s cost-cutting blitz.
While DeSantis blamed the “Deep State” for DOGE’s downfall, critics of the agency offered other reasons.
Jessica Riedl, an economic policy expert at the Manhattan Institute, said DOGE was just “spending cut theater.”
Progressive activist and political commentator Harry Sisson said DOGE was “a total grift that achieved nothing except stealing Americans’ data."
“Trump lied about fraud and saving money and now he’s spending more than ever,” Sisson said in a post on X. “The MAGA scam on full display.”
Democratic activist and author Marianne Williamson claimed Musk was “regretful” and that “DOGE did nothing to help.”
Despite DOGE’s early demise and controversial legacy, Kupor said the “principles” of the initiative “remain alive and well.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.