Donald Trump Taps Elon Musk And Vivek Ramaswamy To Lead “Department Of Government Efficiency”
Donald Trump said that he has tapped Elon Musk, working along with Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead what he calls the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE, a nod to cryptocurrency.
Musk and Ramaswamy will be tasked with setting the stage for a dismantling of the government bureaucracy, slashing regulations and cutting wasteful expenditures, the president-elect said.
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Trump already had signaled on the campaign trail that Musk would lead such an effort. During the presidential campaign, Trump called for eliminating the Department of Education, while other agencies, like the EPA, would be downsized. The Heritage Foundation’s roadmap for the next administration also called for the dismantling of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service.
In a statement, Musk said, “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Trump called the effort “potentially, ‘the Manhattan Project’ of our time.”
Musk took to his social media platform X to let off a few missives of his own
There is currently no actual congressionally approved, Cabinet-level “Department of Government Efficiency.” It was unclear whether Trump plans to create such a department, or if Musk and Ramaswamy would be taking the posts as unelected figures who bypass the Senate confirmation process. Presidents routinely create commissions to study various issues and appoint private sector figures to serve on them.
Trump said that they would work to achieve the kind of large-scale reform that Republicans long have called for at the federal level.
“I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans,” Trump wrote. “Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending.”
He said that their work will conclude “no later than July 4, 2026,” which is the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
Musk, the world’s richest person, endorsed Trump in July and later campaigned for him. He’s been a presence during the transition and reportedly participated in a call last week that the new president-elect had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ramaswamy ran in the Republican primary last year and later became one of Trump’s campaign surrogates.
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