Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz, of Florida, has declared Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a “complete failure.” In a recent Politico interview, Moskowitz didn’t hesitate to call out the project, emphasizing that promises of improved efficiency have simply not come to fruition.
“The DOGE caucus is dead. It’s defunct,” Moskowitz said, criticizing the lack of progress and accountability. “We haven’t met in months. We only had two total meetings in five months.”
Musk’s DOGE initiative was designed to tackle government waste and inefficiency by streamlining federal agencies. Shortly after, the congressional caucus was created to support Musk’s efforts.
Moskowitz, who became the first Democrat to join the caucus in December, initially hoped the effort would lead to meaningful reforms. “The time for staying in safe spaces is over. We got to go to where the conversations are happening,” Moskowitz had said at the time, defending his decision.
However, as time passed, it became clear that the promises of collaboration and reform were falling apart. By February, Moskowitz expressed concern that the caucus was being shut out of the process entirely, noting, “It doesn’t appear to be any communication between what Elon is doing and the caucus. It seems Congress is behind and being left out.”
Months later, Moskowitz’s frustration has only deepened. He now describes the project as a complete failure, lamenting that the original goal of improving government efficiency has not been realized.
“DOGE was a complete failure. Complete failure. Nothing has been made more efficient,” he said.
Moskowitz pointed to real-world examples, including ongoing delays and staffing issues at Newark Airport, to highlight the gap between DOGE’s promises and the reality. “Ask the people in Newark… how efficiency is going,” he added, pointing to the chaos at the airport as proof that no significant changes have been made.
“We weren’t involved at all in anything [happening at DOGE], which Elon was in charge of. Zero. Zilch. Nada. [Musk] did it all on his own,” Moskowitz said in the Politico interview.
Despite Moskowitz’s damning assessment, Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), a co-chair of the DOGE Caucus, remains optimistic. In a statement to Politico, Bean pushed back against the criticism, claiming that the group is still working on long-term reforms that will eventually benefit taxpayers.
“Congress can enact long-term change, and our 100 committed members and eight specialized working groups are working to codify critical reforms and preparing legislation that will unlock savings for the American people,” Bean said.
However, with Musk running his own operation, the initiative has failed to deliver any real results, and promises of government efficiency remain unfulfilled.
