Trump gives Musk's DOGE extra teeth to scour government contracts

Driving the news: The executive order asks agencies to work with a DOGE team lead to review contracts and grants, and cut or modify them "where appropriate," per the White House.

• It also asks agencies to build a system to "record every payment" spent on the agency's contracts and grants and provide a "brief, written justification for each payment."
• The executive order also asks agency heads to work with their DOGE team lead to build a system to record approval for federally-funded travel or conferences — and provide written justification for conferences or non-essential travel.
• The order also requires federal agencies to identify federal properties that are no longer needed that can be disposed of.

The big picture: The executive order comes as Musk continues to dramatically transform the federal government, just over one month into Trump's second term in office.

• Musk has taken sweeping steps to try to cut the federal workforce, sometimes sparking confusion among employees and the agencies themselves.
• Approximately half of the federal workforce has answered Musk's email asking them to detail their accomplishments, the White House said Tuesday.
• The White House earlier on Wednesday sent an email to federal agencies, warning them to prepare for mass layoffs.

Go deeper: Trump: Federal employees who didn't respond to Musk email are on firing "bubble"

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.