Elon Musk, Ramaswamy land Trump admin roles
President-elect Trump has tapped tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an advisory group focused on cutting federal spending and reducing the size of the government.
Trump announced Tuesday that Musk and Ramaswamy would lead his “Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), an initiative meant to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures” and restructure federal agencies.
Trump said DOGE would "provide advice and guidance from outside of government" and partner with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of 'DOGE' for a very long time,” the president-elect added.
It was not immediately clear whether DOGE would be an official part of the Trump administration or advise the White House from outside the government.
“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
In a statement shared by Trump, Musk said DOGE will “send shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Musk later published a series of social media posts reacting to the announcement.
"Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!" he said in one post.
"We will not go gently @elonmusk," Ramaswamy added.
Musk and Trump floated the idea of such a group along the campaign trail, though there was speculation about whether the concept would come to fruition.
The tech billionaire became one of Trump's most vocal allies in recent months and appeared on the trail to stump for the president-elect in the final stretch of the race.
He was reportedly with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in the days following the election and has remained vocal on the social platform X, which he owns, about political issues.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who ran in the Republican presidential primary but dropped his bid at the beginning of this year, was speculated to be appointed to a position in Trump's Cabinet after he supported the president-elect on the campaign trail and hinted at his interest in a position.
“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. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to 'WE THE PEOPLE,'" Trump wrote.
The President-elect said DOGE’s work will “conclude” no later than July 4, 2026, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Concerns were raised in recent weeks over how Musk's dual role as a tech and government leader could lead to conflicts of interest.
Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX and the world's richest person, holds government contracts worth billions of dollars with more than a dozen federal agencies.
Former government officials and ethics experts told The Hill last month Musk’s leadership of a government efficiency group, which could oversee the agencies that grant government contracts and subsidies to Musk-owned companies, could risk the panel’s objectivity and fairness.
The billionaire has not indicated whether he plans to alter his involvement in his other companies as a result of the role.
"DOGE" is also the ticker symbol used by Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency often touted by Musk, which reached its highest value in more than three years earlier Tuesday.
The surge in Dogecoin came amid a days-long rally for cryptocurrency companies following Trump's win last week. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, climbed to a record-high value earlier Tuesday.
Dogecoin has often been associated with Musk, who announced in 2021 that the cryptocurrency company would fund a planned moon mission with his aerospace company, SpaceX.
Updated at 8:23 p.m. ET
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