Doge Has Officially Arrived, But It Looks Pretty Different From What Was Promised

Elon Musk.

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Good morning. Hallam Bullock here, writing to you from London. President Donald Trump has ordered staff members overseeing DEI efforts to be placed on leave by 5 p.m. ET today while he dismantles their departments.

The new administration has had a busy start. In today's big story, we're looking at DOGE officially being established, but it doesn't look like the same department that was promised.

What's on deck

Markets: The SEC is rolling out the very first crypto task force.

Tech: Trump announced an up to $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.

Business: It's about to get a lot harder to buy knock-off Ozempic.

But first, whose DOGE is this?

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The big story

A different kind of DOGE

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

Trump wasted no time establishing the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).

Announced after his win in November, DOGE promised to "provide advice and guidance from outside of government" to help roll back bad regulations and slash government spending. It would also be helmed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair had big plans.

But the DOGE that was signed into life via executive order on Monday is markedly different, BI's Jack Newsham, Alice Tecotzky, and Brent Griffiths write. It's now officially part of the White House, rather than operating as an outside advisory committee.

The executive order also didn't create a new department, but rather renamed another — DOGE will replace the Obama-era US Digital Service (USDS), a unit that primarily works on improving government websites and tech. The USDS's unit had grown to more than 200 people, while Musk's new team is reported to consist of 20 staff.

Oh, and Ramaswamy is no longer a co-leader. Instead of running the group with Musk, he's expected to run for governor of Ohio, according to various media reports.

Brandon Bell via Getty Images

So, why all the changes?

Experts said bringing DOGE inside the federal government could avoid legal headaches (minutes after Trump became president, DOGE was hit with three lawsuits). But it also raises new issues. DOGE is now subject to new transparency and ethical rules, particularly around public information laws.

Being part of the government also means Musk can't use his private fortune to fund DOGE's operations — though one expert told BI that there would likely be easy ways for Musk to get around those limits.

DOGE's mission, per the executive order, is now to "implement the President's DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

Meanwhile, Trump's Office of Personnel Management is making moves reminiscent of DOGE's initial goals: asking federal agencies to put together lists of workers they could easily fire.

Dan in Davos

Grüezi! With the US presidential inauguration behind us, things are definitely in full swing here in Davos, Switzerland. (Although Washington continues to turn heads back west thanks to the latest announcement about investing in AI infrastructure.)

The streets are filling up and some high-profile guests are arriving, either to conduct business, make appearances, or do a little bit of both.

My colleague Spriha Srivastava met David Beckham, who was in town to receive an award for his philanthropic work. Meanwhile, I had the chance to moderate a roundtable hosted by Mastercard that included McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

Fresh off winning the 2024 Constructors' Cup Championship, McLaren's first since 1998, Brown talked about the work done to bring the team back to the top of the podium.

Naturally, we had to touch on AI. (This is Davos, after all.) And while McLaren continues to look at ways to use the tech, Brown made clear the human touch remains key for critical, split-second decisions. In short, you won't see Norris subbed out for an autonomous car anytime soon.

It hasn't all been about AI. I also had an interesting chat with Lisa Stevens, Aon's chief administrative officer, who is passionate about the benefits of companies making GLP-1's more accessible to their workers.

Stevens' hypothesis is employee access to GLP-1s would reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and engagement. (She'll get a first-hand view this year as Aon offers GLP-1s and a complimentary program to its North American employees at a reduced rate.)

Many companies find the cost of the drug deterring, but Stevens believes that the other benefits will actually reduce those expenses over time.

"Because now you're not dealing with all sorts of other health issues that will come into play," Stevens told me. "So that's what we're trying to demonstrate and prove."

Here's the rest of our roundup from Day 2 at Davos.

News brief

Top headlines

• Trump gave Beijing a one-day break before saying he could hit China with tariffs starting in February.
• Union leaders say Trump requiring federal employees to return to the office is a bad idea.
• Trump said new tariffs on Canada and Mexico could arrive within days. Here's what Americans should know about his trade plans.
• Trailblazing US Coast Guard leader becomes first top military officer fired after Trump takes office.
• Trump's mass deportation plan could drain over $20 billion annually from Social Security.
• Google's investment chief sees a 'tremendous amount of opportunity' to work with Trump 2.0.
• Meta executives try to reassure advertisers after CEO Mark Zuckerberg's free speech makeover.
• Elon Musk had a pre-inauguration meeting with China, lining him up as a Trump-Beijing intermediary.
• Tulsi Gabbard went MAGA. Now she's raking in cash.

3 things in markets

Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

1. The SEC launches a crypto task force. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced it's rolling out a crypto task force, which will help "draw clear regulatory lines" in the space. It'll be led by Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner Trump appointed in his first term. Digital assets saw a nice bump on Tuesday afternoon as the market responded to the news.

2. A famed bubble-spotter predicts the year in real estate. Last year was the toughest for first-time home buyers since the 1980s, but analyst Ivy Zelman thinks there are a few reasons to be hopeful in 2025. (Just don't get too excited about mortgage rates — they're unlikely to come down anytime soon.)

3. Trump's meme coin is no joke — sort of. The launch of $Trump could cause problems for crypto, with some industry leaders worried the high-profile meme coin could hurt the industry's credibility. Also, while Trump is now a crypto billionaire on paper, the president will have a hard time if he ever decides to cash out.

3 things in tech

twomeows/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

1. Big Tech's TikTok turmoil. TikTok is back — but not for all US app stores, despite Trump's executive order delaying the sell-or-ban law. He's promised tech giants like Apple and Google that he won't enforce it, seemingly making them choose between trusting the president or following the law. Meanwhile, legal analysts say Trump's order might not be enough to return TikTok to app stores.

2. Trump goes big on AI. The president announced on Tuesday an up to $500 billion AI infrastructure investment involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The trio will work together to create a venture named Stargate, which Trump called: "the largest AI infrastructure project in history." But he'll need chips, talent, and fuel to make it work.

3. Layoffs most fowl. Payments platform Stripe laid off 300 employees, or about 3.5% of its staff, according to a leaked internal memo obtained by BI. Some of those axed got a "quack" surprise in their layoff emails thanks to an unfortunate admin flub.

3 things in business

Mario Tama/Getty Images

1. Netflix knocks it out of the park. The streamer added 19 million paid subscribers in Q4, the most in its history, and exceeded earnings expectations. Netflix's shares rose as much as 15% in after-hours trading as investors celebrated. It's not all rainbows and sunshine for subscribers, though — the streaming service also announced it's raising prices immediately.

2. Wall Street shake-ups. Goldman Sachs announced a series of leadership changes, including expanding the size of its management committee and elevating several executives to its top ranks. Similarly, Citigroup also recently announced changes to its technology and "crown jewel" service divisions, as two key executives are set to leave the bank.

3. So long, faux-zempic. Americans who have relied on cheap weight-loss drugs are about to face a harsh reality. The FDA is taking those drugs off its shortage list, which means it's about to get a lot harder to get off-brand Ozempic or Zepbound.settling for lower-paying jobs to pay the bills.

What's happening now

• Samsung's "Galaxy Unpacked" product launch event showcases new Galaxy devices.
• Discover, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble report earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.