With members embedded in multiple agencies, the team’s approach to transforming government is becoming “institutionalized,” as one official put it.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is now the one on the chopping block in an ironic twist following the recent collapse of Trump and Musk’s friendship. With Musk and Trump publicly losing patience with one another,

Musk is not about to overtake Trump himself as the dominant figure in the party, to be clear. But the jilted former “special government employee” is uniquely suited to become a chaos agent who could terrorize the GOP — potentially wreaking havoc on Trump’s legislative agenda and the party’s midterm election plans.