Yuval Levin writes for National Review about potential success for a Trump idea to boost government efficiency.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has drawn lots of loose talk in this transition period before Donald Trump’s second presidency. The concept has the classic markers of a Trump-era brainstorm: Not quite real and not quite not, it was born when a noncommittal remark by Trump drew a half-serious tweet from Elon Musk. Despite its name, it doesn’t look likely to be any kind of department, but it might be a committee that proposes reforms of government.

It could easily turn out to be a big waste of everyone’s time. That’s usually how reform commissions go. But Musk is no slouch. And the idea has drawn the cooperation of an array of tech-sector and entrepreneurial talent, starting with one-time presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is leading the effort with Musk.

There is surely a need for some new thinking about how to combat inefficiency in government. Smart, creative people looking for such ideas sometimes really do find them. And congressional Republicans as well as the incoming administration have gone out of their way to insist they would be receptive.

So maybe the DOGE could have some potential. But to generate more than memes and slogans, it will need to quickly nail down several key particulars about its goals, its structure, and its approach. All of those remain vague for the moment, and getting them right at the outset is vital.

For all the talk about the DOGE, its basic ambition is still pretty murky. The arguments for its work, and the promises made on its behalf, have so far been a hodgepodge of libertarian bromides. Above all, its champions seem to have in mind dramatically reducing federal spending, sharply curtailing the federal workforce, and fundamentally reforming federal regulatory policy.

Only the last of these would be worth the DOGE’s time and attention.