The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly utilizing the legal framework of the United States Digital Service (USDS), an IT task force created by the Obama administration in 2014. By rebranding this existing program, the Trump administration has granted DOGE teams access to every federal database and hiring authority under 5 U.S. Code 3161. This structure makes the program difficult to defund or shut down without rewriting multiple federal laws.
