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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is planning to create a "mega API"—which allows software systems to talk to one another—to access Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, according to a report from Wired.
Sam Corcos, a top DOGE operative embedded at the IRS, has discussed plans for DOGE to build a new API, or application programming interface, to make IRS data more easily accessible to cloud platforms, sources told the magazine. A source with direct knowledge told Wired that the cloud platform could become the "read center of all IRS systems," allowing anyone with access to view and possibly manipulate all IRS data in one place.
The report said that DOGE aims to have it complete within 30 days and is considering asking a third-party cloud and software provider like Palantir to work on it. Newsweek contacted DOGE and the IRS for comment.
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It comes after The Washington Post reported last month that Corcos and others at DOGE had expressed interest in using personal tax records to check federal benefit payments for fraud. The Post, citing three people familiar with the situation and records, reported that DOGE representatives had asked IRS lawyers to help create an agreement with other federal agencies that would allow officials to cross-reference benefit rolls with taxpayer data, but the lawyers concluded a request to share taxpayer date with other federal agencies for reasons unrelated to administering taxes would violate privacy laws.
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Cuts To Department Of Homeland Security
DOGE is expected to take aim at the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days, with agencies including the Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency facing major cuts, according to CNN.
FEMA is expected to be "decimated," a source told CNN.
The report said that Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are also facing cuts.
A senior DHS official defended the cuts, telling CNN that the department is "determined to eliminate government waste that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer. Across DHS, we will be eliminating non-mission critical positions and bureaucratic hurdles that undermine our mission to secure the homeland. Secretary [Kristi] Noem is determined to return DHS to its core mission of keeping America safe."
How Many Jobs Has DOGE Cut So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies.
Layoffs are underway at the Department of Health and Human Services, which initially announced that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees, according to the Associated Press.
It has also been reported that the IRS plans to lose about 18,000 employees—about 20 percent of its workforce. Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress that 10,000 workers at the United States Postal Service would be cut.
The Department of Education has announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees, while the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the AP in March.
The Pentagon reportedly plans to cut its civilian workforce by about 50,000 to 60,000.
At least 24,000 probationary workers have been terminated since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, according to a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states alleging the mass firings are illegal. In March, two federal judges ordered 19 federal agencies to reinstate fired probationary workers.
About 75,000 federal workers accepted the offer to quit in return for receiving pay and benefits until September 30.
How Much Spending Has DOGE Cut So Far?
DOGE said its efforts have saved the federal government an estimated $140 billion as of March 30. Musk, who heads the department, initially said his goal was to trim $2 trillion from the federal budget but backtracked in January, saying there was a "good shot" of cutting half that amount.
DOGE said the receipts provided on its website—showing contract, grant and lease cancellations—represent about 30 percent of total savings, meaning the top-line figure is not yet verifiable.
According to the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker designed by data analyst Brian Banks, the verifiable savings was about $7.7 billion as of March 25, including actual savings from contracts and real estate. The tracker says grants are unlabeled and cannot be verified.
Is DOGE A Government Agency?
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office, officially creating DOGE to modernize "federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
Despite its name, it is not a government agency created by an act of Congress but a task force that targets waste and fraud in the federal government.
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