Billionaire Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new department to achieve government efficiency under Donald Trump, US media reported on Wednesday.
Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work outside of government, offering “advice and guidance” to the White House, and will work with the Office of Management and Budget to “implement sweeping structural reform and create an unprecedented entrepreneurial approach to governance.” He added that the move would shake up government systems.
Trump also said the duo will “pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulation, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.”
Writing on the social media platform he owns X, Musk promised to document all of the department’s actions online for “maximum transparency.”
“Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!” he said, while also promise to keep “a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars”.
Ramaswamy also reacted to the announcement of his appointment on X’s website. “We will not go gently, @elonmusk” he said, adding an emoji with an American flag.
It is not yet clear how the organisation will operate. It will probably fall under the Federal Advisory Committees Act, which dictates how outside groups advising the government must operate and be accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and affiliations to prevent potential conflicts of interest, and to divest themselves of significant assets related to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy are not official federal employees, they will not face these requirements or ethical restrictions.
Trump said their work would be completed by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a “gift” to the country for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotechnology entrepreneur who first ran last year as a Republican Party candidate. After dropping out of the race, he endorsed Trump. Earlier this week, he told ABC television that he was having “high-impact discussions” about a possible role in Trump’s cabinet.
He also has no government experience, but has advocated for spending cuts in the corporate sector. After he acquired a stake in struggling online media company Buzzfeed in May, he called on the company to cut staff and hire conservative commentators such as Tucker Carlson.
DOGE as a threat to bureaucracy
The acronym for the new division Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) matches the name of Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency Musk is promoting. The value of Dogecoin has more than doubled since Election Day, tracking the rise of cryptocurrency markets on expectations of more lenient regulation under the Trump administration. Tesla shares are up about 30 per cent since the election.
“This is going to send a shock to the system and to everyone involved in the waste of public funds, which is a lot of people!” – Musk stated and added: “A threat to democracy? No, a threat to bureaucracy!!!” The billionaire has previously spoken of his desire to cut $2 trillion in federal spending and acknowledged that cuts among bureaucrats would cause “temporary hardship” for some Americans.
Elon Musk actively supported Donald Trump during his election campaign. In October, it was reported that Musk had become a major political donor in the US, investing $75 million in support of Donald Trump’s election campaign.
In late October, he also began raffling off $1 million each day until the presidential election among those who signed his online petition to defend the US Constitution.
