After DOGE: Trump’s Chance to Modernize

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has shocked many observers with its slash-and-burn approach to downsizing the federal workforce. To date, more than 110,000 federal employees have left government since Trump took office—approximately 75,000 have accepted “deferred resignation” offers and the rest have been fired—and many more cuts are looming.

Shrinking the government payroll often faces political resistance, which is one of the reasons why many agencies struggle to translate IT investments into efficiency gains—they cannot realize cost savings from IT-enabled productivity gains if they cannot make the necessary staffing cuts. However, having already expended the political capital to reduce staffing levels, the Trump administration now has a unique opportunity to prove that it can still deliver essential services—potentially with greater efficiency—by fully embracing technology modernization in government.

One of the most high-profile examples of DOGE’s workforce reduction has come in the Social Security Administration, which reports have suggested could face up to a 50 percent staffing cut. Many people are understandably worried that these staffing changes could result in many Americans losing access to critical benefits, including retirees, people with disabilities, and families eligible for survivor benefits.

The Trump administration is facing a difficult challenge: maintaining or improving service delivery with a leaner workforce. The only way it can achieve this goal is by leveraging digital technology, which means rather than just cutting jobs, the Trump administration should refocus on ensuring that government agencies are equipped with the right technology to function efficiently.

Over the past decade, organizations like 18F and the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) have played key roles in modernizing federal technology. These initiatives have brought in skilled technologists to work with federal agencies, embedding best practices from the private sector, such as agile development and user-centered design. 18F functioned as an internal consultancy, while USDS operated like a SWAT team for fixing mission-critical systems.

Despite their dissolution under DOGE, their legacy offers important lessons. For example, IT investment alone isn’t enough. Simply purchasing new technology does not make an agency more efficient. The real gains come from rethinking how agencies deliver government services. Automation and AI can help by handling routine tasks so that a smaller workforce can focus on complex cases. User experience also matters, and one of the biggest achievements of 18F and USDS was improving government websites and digital tools to make them more accessible to the public. Future efforts should continue this momentum.

To ensure that the government remains functional despite workforce reductions, the Trump administration needs to begin championing digital-first strategies:

• Expanding self-service portals will allow citizens to handle tasks such as applying for benefits or checking claim statuses without requiring human intervention.
• AI-powered customer support, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, can resolve common issues and direct users to the right resources, reducing the need for large call center staff.
• Automated document processing through machine learning can streamline bureaucratic processes, minimizing manual data entry and paperwork.
• Secure and seamless authentication should also remain a priority, with continued development of solutions like Login.gov to simplify access to multiple services.

Ultimately, the Trump team needs to create a long-term, sustainable “whole of government” digital strategy with priorities built around mission and customer outcomes.

It is not clear whether DOGE, which absorbed USDS and eliminated 18F, can effectively serve in this role. Nobody hires a demolition crew to build a skyscraper. The challenge now is to ensure that, after tearing down parts of the government’s tech infrastructure, there is another part of the Trump administration that invests in new systems that support efficiency and innovation.

The future of government efficiency will depend not just on cutting staff, but on ensuring that agencies can still deliver results with fewer employees. The Trump administration has the opportunity to prove that lean government can also be effective government—if it embraces digital transformation.