President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order directing agency leaders to work with staff from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut costs through contracts, employee travel and other means.
The order calls for the head of government agencies to work with DOGE staffers at their department to build a centralized system to record every payment and contract. The system will be used for departments to review and justify the spending, or they will be terminated.
The order also directs agency heads, with assistance from DOGE, to build a system that records approved federally funded travel “for conferences and other non-essential purposes.”
“Once an agency’s system is in place, the Agency Head shall prohibit agency employees from engaging in federally funded travel for conferences or other non-essential purposes unless the travel-approving official has submitted a brief, written justification for the federally funded travel within such system,” the order states.
Trump’s executive action additionally establishes that “all credit cards held by agency employees shall be treated as frozen for 30 days from the date of this order,” except for credit cards being used for purposes like disaster relief or “critical services” as determined by agency leaders.
The order does not apply to law enforcement officers or agencies working on immigration, a top priority for the Trump administration. It excludes Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Wednesday’s order codifies more of a working relationship between DOGE officials and other government departments, further solidifying the power and reach of senior Trump adviser Elon Musk. The tech billionaire has led DOGE’s efforts to make sweeping cuts to government spending and the federal workforce, largely by identifying and halting contracts the advisory group has determined do not align with Trump’s policies.
Semafor first reported on the executive order.
Musk attended a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday with other Trump officials, even though he is not technically part of the Cabinet. The president recognized the Tesla CEO to speak before other Cabinet officials, underscoring his significant role.
“The overall goal here with the DOGE team is to help address the enormous deficit. We simply cannot sustain as a country $2 trillion deficits,” Musk said.
The Cabinet meeting took place shortly after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies across government to turn over plans for widespread layoffs of federal employees by March 13.
