DOGE Builds AI Tool to Cut 50% of Federal Regulations

The U.S. DOGE Service is using a new artificial intelligence tool to slash federal regulations, with the goal of eliminating half of Washington’s regulatory mandates by the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and four government officials familiar with the plans.

The tool, called the “DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool,” is supposed to analyze roughly 200,000 federal regulations to determine which can be eliminated because they are no longer required by law, according to a PowerPoint presentation obtained by The Post that is dated July 1 and outlines DOGE’s plans.

Roughly 100,000 of those rules would be deemed worthy of trimming, the PowerPoint estimates — mostly through the automated tool with some staff feedback. The PowerPoint also suggests the AI tool will save the United States trillions of dollars by reducing compliance requirements, slashing the federal budget and unlocking unspecified “external investment.”

The tool has already been used to complete “decisions on 1,083 regulatory sections” at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in under two weeks, according to the PowerPoint, and to write “100% of deregulations” at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Three HUD employees — as well as documents obtained by The Post — confirmed that an AI tool was recently used to review hundreds, if not more than 1,000, lines of regulations at that agency and suggest edits or deletions.

The tool was developed by engineers brought into government as part of Elon Musk’s DOGE project, according to two federal officials directly familiar with DOGE’s work, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations they were not authorized to discuss publicly.

Conservatives have long argued that the federal government issues far too many regulations that constrain economic growth and hurt the private sector. Many liberals have emphasized that there are reasons federal regulations are in place, such as protecting the environment and ensuring food safety.

Asked about the AI-fueled deregulation, White House spokesman Harrison Fields wrote in an email that “all options are being explored” to achieve the president’s goal of deregulating government. Fields noted that “no single plan has been approved or green-lit,” cautioning that the work is “in its early stages and is being conducted in a creative way in consultation with the White House.”

Fields added: “The DOGE experts creating these plans are the best and brightest in the business and are embarking on a never-before-attempted transformation of government systems and operations to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.”

No decisions have been completed on using AI to slash regulations, a HUD spokesperson said. The agency is having “ongoing discussions” to consider how to make government more efficient. “We are not disclosing specifics about how many regulations are being examined or where we are at in the broader process,” the spokesperson said, adding, “the process is far from final.”

The spokesperson continued: “The intent of the developments is not to replace the judgment, discretion and expertise of staff but be additive to the process.”

One former member of DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency, wrote in a text message that the team did everything it could to come up with legal and technological solutions to repeal as many regulations as possible within Trump’s term.

“Creative deployment of artificial intelligence to advance the president’s regulatory agenda is one logical strategy to make significant progress in that finite amount of time,” wrote James Burnham, who served as chief attorney for DOGE and is now managing partner at King Street Legal.

The proposed use of AI to accomplish swift, massive deregulation expands upon the Trump administration’s work to embed AI across the government — using it for everything from fighting wars to reviewing taxes. And it dovetails with the administration’s aim to unwind regulations government-wide, even without AI. But it’s unclear whether a new, untested technology could make mistakes in its attempts to analyze federal regulations typically put in place for a reason.

On Jan. 31, Trump issued an executive order to “unleash prosperity through deregulation,” which required agencies to repeal 10 rules for every new rule issued. Since then, some departments have engaged in what almost appears to be a competition to cut. In May, the Transportation Department declared it had deleted 52 regulations and more than 73,000 words from the Federal Register. This month, the Labor Department announced plans to nix more than 60 regulations.

Still, Republicans have grown frustrated by the relatively slow pace of deregulatory actions. During the first six months of Trump’s first term, his administration cut costs by about $550 million and paperwork hours by 566,000, according to the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank that tracks regulations. Through July of this year, the Trump administration has achieved nearly all its cost reductions by repealing one rule regarding what businesses must report about their ownership ties. Without that, the Trump administration would have increased regulatory costs by $1.1 billion and paperwork hours by 3.3 million, according to the think tank.

“They’re way behind where they were in 2017 on the numbers, no question about it,” said Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. “I thought this was going to be something they crushed because they did so in 2017. I’ve been baffled by this.”

The AI tool is intended to massively accelerate the deregulation process, with every federal agency able to develop a list of regulations to eliminate in less than four weeks, according to the PowerPoint. The agencies are supposed to finish their lists by Sept. 1, and this month, DOGE is supposed to start training staff at agencies on how to use the AI tool, the PowerPoint states.

Read the full PowerPoint here.