Tech mogul Elon Musk expressed optimism about his Department of Government Efficiency at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, even as lawsuits against the agency caused popular dog-themed cryptocurrency Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) to plummet.
What happened: During his speech at a post-inauguration celebration, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO underlined the importance of last year's elections and thanked the American people for voting for Trump.
"It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured,” Musk said. "We’re going to have safe cities — finally — secure borders, sensible spending."
In what appeared to be an interesting spin on the popular “DOGE to the Moon” phrase common among Dogecoin enthusiasts, Musk remarked, “We’re going to take DOGE to Mars," referring to the Department of Government Efficiency.
The Mars mention could also refer to Trump’s promise to send astronauts to plant the American flag on Mars during his inaugural speech.
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Why It Matters: A brainchild of Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is an entity tasked with cutting federal spending and abolishing superfluous regulations.
The agency, which has received significant attention since Trump officially announced it following his election victory, fell into trouble when a barrage of lawsuits were launched against it shortly after Trump took office.
Additionally, Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE's co-lead, was expected to step down from his position, potentially causing further troubles for the agency.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that frequently moves on developments around the agency, fell over 3% on this development. The coin's trading volume also plunged by 22%.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Dogecoin was exchanging hands at $0.3457, down 3.02% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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