At a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Elon Musk clarified that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not the same thing as the Dogecoin cryptocurrency (DOGE). Many people at the meeting were curious as to whether the U.S. government would use the Dogecoin blockchain. Musk clarified that the DOGE token was different from the DOGE government department. He also clarified that he simply named the token DOGE because community members suggested he do so, as opposed to using the alternative title “Government Efficiency Commission”. Musk also clarified that the U.S. government had no intention of using Dogecoin.
Musk talked at an American PAC event in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Musk has long supported Dogecoin, which has the same acronym as the government department DOGE. This led to a reasonable assumption, amongst attendees, that there may be a link between the two entities. Musk highlighted that there was no plan to use Dogecoin, but also stated that there was no plan for “anything”, to the best of his knowledge. He further stated that he found the original title, for the government department, to be boring, preferring DOGE instead.
Dogecoin has been trading around $0.166, despite the increased interest in the digital asset, following current trends of the wider market. Musk, a supporter of Dogecoin, also warns about the risks of buying memecoins, encouraging people not to treat memecoins as serious investments. Musk compares memecoins to a gambling casino. Further, Musk has a large influence on the crypto market, with his social media platform X, he is able to boost a digital asset simply by making a post about it, thus proving to be a difficult task for regulators aiming to curtail government corruption.
DOGE, the government department, has been responsible for identifying fraud and inefficiencies in the Federal government, laying off thousands of employees, and attempting to make the public sector more efficient. One such example, identified by DOGE, was a credit card programme for federal employees, providing 4.6 million credit cards when there were roughly only 2.4 million employees. Musk described this programme as “absurd”. Musk believes that he is making a real difference in the public sector, putting America in a better position on the world stage, and, according to the tech billionaire, is starting a “revolution”.
Musk has stated, during a Fox News interview, that he will step down from his job at DOGE after he secures a $1 trillion reduction in the U.S. deficit. He believes that he could accomplish all of his goals within 130 days, which means he could be stepping down in May.
Josh Kaul, Wisconsin Attorney General, tried and failed to block Musk’s event in the Supreme Court. Musk wanted to hand out $1 million checks to 2 fortunate attendees. The event was also aimed at supporting local conservative candidate Brad Schimel.
Democrats argued that Musk’s gift of two $1 million checks violated the laws of the state against bribery. Musk and his associates have given $20 million to support local conservative candidate Brad Schimel, who is running against Susan Crawford. Musk said that he signed a petition against activist judges, whom he said are blocking his million-dollar gift events.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state. Brad Schimel, if he wins the race, will bring an ideological element to the court, which will further benefit conservatives in future elections. Susan Crawford says that Musk is exerting too much influence on the courts, using his money to sway support. Conservatives, however, may say that Musk is a superstar and is encouraging more people to become actively involved in local politics.
Musk’s gifts are not a first for the tech billionaire, who gave $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and 6 other battleground states. A judge in Pennsylvania said that the event was an illegal lottery and should not have been allowed to run right up to election day. Musk, however, gave the $1 million gifts to attendees who signed a petition supporting the First and second amendments.
