Washington DC: United States President-elect Donald Trump names Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) upon return to the White House.
Trump said in a statement that, “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Trump added that, under his plan, Musk and Ramaswamy would conclude their work by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.
The proposed department appears to have been inspired by a conversation Trump had on the campaign trail with Musk, one of his most prominent supporters.
On August 13, Elon Musk and Donald Trump discussed creating a new government commission to reduce waste during a two-hour live broadcast on Musk’s platform, X. Trump praised Musk’s abilities, stating, “I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts.”
Later, Trump announced plans to create a “government efficiency commission” to audit the federal government and recommend reforms. Critics point out that independent agencies like the Government Accountability Office already perform such functions.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024
Musk, a billionaire originally from South Africa, is the founder of the electric car company Tesla, the owner of X and the leader of SpaceX, a rocket-building company.
Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is the founder of a pharmaceutical company. Earlier this year, he competed against Trump in the Republican primary season, only to drop out after finishing fourth in January’s Iowa caucus. He immediately endorsed Trump after suspending his campaign.
The department’s goals include “drastic change” and large-scale reform, with Musk suggesting it could save over $2 trillion in federal spending. Trump also pledged to eliminate the Department of Education and use the new department to drive significant structural reforms in government.
DOGE, the acronym for the newly created department, is also the name of the cryptocurrency that Musk promotes.
A future Department of Government Efficiency, Trump explained, would partner with the White House to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
To illustrate the scale and importance of his proposed department, Trump drew a comparison between the new body and a World War II-era programme that developed the atomic bomb.
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