Trump DOGE AI Targets 50% Regulation Cuts by 2026

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal body created under President Donald Trump’s second term, has developed a controversial AI-driven tool designed to slash thousands of U.S. federal regulations. The effort backed by prominent tech figures including Elon Musk is already stirring debate across Washington and Silicon Valley alike.

According to The Washington Post, the tool officially named the AI Deregulation Decision Tool was first revealed in a PowerPoint dated July 1, 2025. It’s engineered to analyze over 200,000 federal regulations and identify which ones are legally unnecessary or obsolete. The ultimate aim? Eliminate at least 50% of all regulatory mandates by July 2026.

Trump’s Deregulation Agenda Finds a Silicon Ally

This latest initiative aligns with Trump’s broader push for deregulation in his second term which is a theme he emphasized throughout his 2024 campaign. But this time, the White House is relying heavily on artificial intelligence to expedite the process. The DOGE AI tool, reportedly developed with oversight from Musk in the early months of the administration, is one of several AI-based instruments now being used to modernize government functions.

DOGE officials say the tool has already been deployed at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While no public technical paper has been released yet, observers speculate that the AI model may be based on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) techniques used to process legal texts, cross-reference laws, and identify non-binding or redundant mandates.

Tool Already Flagged for Flaws in Other Use Cases

This isn’t the first time DOGE’s AI efforts have come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, another tool developed by the agency reportedly hallucinated the size of government contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, prompting internal reviews. Still, DOGE is doubling down on its strategy.

The push comes as AI use in government becomes more prominent and controversial. President Trump has frequently positioned AI as a weapon in the fight against bureaucratic waste and inefficiency.

Federal Agencies Divided Over AI-Led Review

Despite internal praise from pro-deregulation allies, other departments are expressing concern. Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Labor have reportedly resisted DOGE’s attempts to deploy the AI tool in their regulatory environments.

Labor advocacy groups have also raised red flags, arguing that AI is being weaponized to quietly dismantle protections for workers, tenants, and low-income families. Meanwhile, conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation have applauded the initiative.

Elon Musk’s Shadow Role and the DOGE-Musk Connection

The DOGE agency shares its name ironically with the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which Elon Musk has promoted in the past. While Musk is no longer officially part of DOGE, sources close to the administration say he played a key advisory role in shaping the AI roadmap in Q1 2025.

This isn’t his first foray into governance AI. Musk’s AI company xAI has already partnered with the Department of Defense on a real-time battlefield logistics project and has floated interest in streamlining government procurement systems using Grok, the AI model embedded in X (formerly Twitter).

For more context on Musk’s geopolitical tech ambitions, you can read how his influence is also extending to Trump’s AI policies on China.

Oversight, Transparency and Political Fallout

As DOGE expands AI deployment to more agencies, transparency has become a hot topic. Civil liberties groups are demanding access to training data and algorithmic logic used in the Deregulation Decision Tool. Congressional Democrats have signaled interest in opening an AI oversight hearing after the August recess.

Some experts warn that the promise of efficiency may not justify the risks. Others see this as a glimpse of the future. If successful, the AI tool could become a model for governments worldwide seeking to digitize and streamline their bureaucracies. Whether hailed as revolutionary or reckless, DOGE’s AI push is now at the center of a national conversation about how America governs and who gets to decide.