The actions of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have attracted reactions from officials, scholars, and citizens. While a majority supports the creation of an agency dedicated to efficiency efforts, most opinion polls show opposition to DOGE and Elon Musk, . Representatives created task forces to support DOGE efforts to cut waste. Countrywide protests have been organized to oppose mass layoffs, service cuts, privatization, and data extraction; United States Digital Service employees have resigned in protest. Various groups have sued DOGE, Musk, and the Trump administration.

Supporters have emphasized the need for efficiency and fiscal responsibility; they have expressed hope that DOGE will cut down on wasteful spending. Unitary executive theory advocates argue that the bureaucracy forms a "fourth branch of government" that should be bent to the president's will. Critics have spoken of a corporate coup of the US government by an entity they deem unaccountable and unconstitutional. Security experts have pointed to national security and cybersecurity risks created by DOGE teams rushing into critical infrastructure. Potential conflicts of interest have been raised about Musk and his associates: with government contracts that clash with federal regulators, which DOGE is trying to slash. The administration suggested that Musk would recuse himself if his interests conflicted. DOGE has been accused of pursuing a symbolic culture war rather than targeting wasteful spendings. Multi-billion-dollar mistakes have been reported in savings DOGE claimed.‌

Public opinion On January 24, 2025, the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published poll results showing that 39% of Americans disapprove and 29% approve of DOGE, while 52% hold an unfavorable opinion of Musk.

On February 23, Axios reported that multiple polls showed that a majority of Americans disapprove of DOGE's dissection of the government and of the amount of power Musk has gained. A February 24 poll of 2,443 American voters from Harvard Caps/Harris found that 72% of respondents supported the existence of an organization focused on cutting government waste; 60% of respondents answered that they believed DOGE was helping to make major cuts to federal spending; 58% said DOGE employees should not have access to sensitive information on Americans who benefit from government expenditure programs, including names, social security numbers, addresses, and incomes. A February 2025 poll of 1,000 American voters from Napolitan News Service found that 47% of respondents supported DOGE's cuts, 39% were opposed, and 13% were unsure. A survey at the end of February by Axios and Generation Lab found that 71% of voters under the age of 35 disapproved of DOGE's actions.

On March 2, CBS/YouGov released the results of a survey showing that 27% of Americans (17% of Democrats, 25% of Independents, and 39% of Republicans) believe that DOGE should have a lot of influence over government operations and spending; the majority (52%) believes that DOGE and Musk have too much access to government data records.

On April 20, a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll showed a majority did not trust Musk to identify federal programs to cut (53%), protect citizen privacy (55%), or avoid conflict of interests (59%); a majority of Americans (56%) believe that Musk has too much influence over the federal government.

In April, a Washington Post and Ipsos poll showed that over two thirds of Americans are concerned about DOGE data access.

Mobilization

Caucuses and committees On November 19, 2024, Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) launched the congressional Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus (DOGE Caucus) to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced plans two days later for a new subcommittee called the Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, which would be chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). On November 22, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) was appointed to lead the corresponding Senate DOGE Caucus.

Several Democrats have expressed willingness to work with the Congressional Caucus, including Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR). Others offered ideas: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on agency redundancies, online tax forms, fossil fuel subsidies, and IT systems; Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) on government form size; Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on permit processes; and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) on sending federal agencies back to states.

On December 17, the Congressional Caucus held its first meeting, with over 60 attendees, including Democrats Steven Horsford (D-NV), Hoyle, and Moskowitz. Lawmakers described it as largely organizational, with discussions about "low-hanging fruit", such as cutting remote work. The next day, Ernst proposed a "Drain the Swamp Act" bill, requiring agencies to relocate 30 percent of Washington, D.C., employees outside the metro area while restricting the ability to telework. Moskowitz proposed days later to make the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secret Service independent from the Department of Homeland Security. On February 5, Hoyle left the caucus, citing disillusionment with DOGE's goals: "it is apparent that [Musk] sees DOGE's work is to find funds to give tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of working people, not about doing right by them." The same day, Moskowitz voiced uncertainty on staying in the caucus, seeing no purpose; a week later he criticized the lack of collaboration between DOGE and the caucus: "Elon's been doing it all himself."

In May, Moskowitz declared the DOGE Caucus 'dead', saying, "We haven't met in months. We only had two total meetings in five months. And we weren't involved at all in anything [happening at DOGE], which Elon was in charge of." Moskowitz said he was told by the caucus co-chairs that DOGE would work with the caucus, but "None of it happened." Co-chair Aaron Bean said that the caucus was "just getting started".

State initiatives In February 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida established the Florida Department of Government Efficiency, the first state-level equivalent of DOGE.

In April 2025, Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma followed suit and issued an executive order to create an Oklahoma Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE-OK).

In April, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas launched an agency modeled after DOGE.

, there are more than 20 state-level DOGE organizations.

International initiatives In June 2025, Reform UK announced the start of a DOGE-inspired initiative to identify and slash wasteful spending by councils.

The concept of a DOGE for the European Union has received support from European CEOs Tim Höttges and Patrick Pouyanné, as well as European Parliament member Axel Voss.

Protests

, protests against DOGE are ongoing.

TeslaTakeover Protestors appeared at Tesla showrooms in numerous cities in the US in February. One of the larger protests took place outside Tesla's Manhattan showroom, where protestors could be heard chanting "Elon Musk can go to Mars; we don't need your Nazi cars" referring to the Elon Musk salute controversy and Musk's support for Alternative for Germany. Protests also took place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, and Kansas City among others. Musician Sheryl Crow posted a video on social media showing a flatbed truck removing a Tesla she had sold in protest.

Protests happened outside Tesla stores nationwide in response to significant federal layoffs led by Elon Musk. Demonstrations have occurred in cities such as New York, Jacksonville, and Tucson, with participants criticizing Musk's role in implementing substantial cuts to the federal workforce. In New York City, nine individuals were arrested during a protest at a Tesla store, reflecting the intensity of public sentiment. The "Tesla Takedown" movement has gained momentum, with activists urging the public to divest from Tesla and participate in picket lines to challenge the administration.

Spoon emoji In early February, employees at the Technology Transformation Services, a technology office within the General Services Administration, protested against Trump appointee Thomas Shedd during an internal meeting where he was encouraging staff to consider the deferred resignation program. Employees flooded the video conferencing chat with spoon emojis in opposition to Shedd, Musk and DOGE. Spoons were chosen in light of the initial email about the deferred resignation program, titled "Fork in the Road".

Stop the coup On February3, protesters gathered outside the Office of Personnel Management and indicated that they would continue to protest for the rest of the week in opposition to DOGE and Musk. The protestors claimed that Musk had illegally taken control of the government's infrastructure, and raised concerns that Musk was an unelected foreign national who was potentially stealing sensitive information stored in federal servers.

A rally was organized in front of the Treasury Department the next day via word of mouth and social media, with initially 50 participants that grew into hundreds. Participants included federal workers, retirees and others who were alarmed and angry over Musk and DOGE's actions and its trajectory, chanting "Elon Musk has to go" and signs reading "No Trump, No Musk, No Fascist USA" and "Musk owns Trump". Democratic politicians such as Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Maxine Waters spoke out at the protest.

"Hands Off!"

About every day in April, millions of people across the United States organized as part of the "Hands Off!" protest. Protestor frustrations included Musk's involvement in government downsizing. The April protests converge toward a national day of action on May, 1.

Town halls House Republican Rich McCormick was booed at a town hall in Georgia as he defended the administration's actions.

Many constituents turned out to town hall meetings held by members of Congress in February, 2025, and voiced their concerns and anger about the mass layoffs. The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives suggested that members stop holding town halls or use video town halls, as a means of preventing viral video clips of constituents confronting their representatives.

National parks Several National Park Service employees at Yosemite National Park rappelled down the face of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite monolith in the park, and hung a 30-foot-by-50-foot upside-down US flag as a distress signal. The group stated "The purpose of this exercise of free speech is to disrupt without violence and draw attention to the fact that public lands in the United States are under attack. ... Firing thousands of staff regardless of position or performance across the nation is the first step in destabilizing the protections in place for these great places." On 1 March 2025 opponents of job cuts rallied in over 100 national parks across the US.

Stand for Science

A number of protests and national days of action, such as the March 7, 2025 Stand For Science rallies, have opposed funding and staff cuts.

Resignations