By Summary
- Musk and Ramaswamy will lead the efficiency department
- DOGE aims to dismantle bureaucracy, cut regulations, and restructure agencies
- Musk and Ramaswamy’s work is set to conclude by July 4, 2026
- The department will take “advice and guidance” from outside government and work with OMB
- Ramaswamy says he is withdrawing from consideration for the Ohio Senate seat
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Elon Musk to a role aimed at creating a more efficient government, handing even more influence to the world’s richest man who donated millions of dollars to helping Trump get elected.
Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, an entity Trump indicated will operate outside the confines of government. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he steps on stage during a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27, 2024. US President-elect Donald Trump on November 12, 2024, said Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will lead a so-called Department of Government Efficiency alongside US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump said the new department will realize long-held Republican dreams and “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” signaling the Musk and Ramaswamy roles would be informal, without requiring Senate approval and allowing Musk to remain the head of electric car company Tesla (TSLA.O), social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX. The new department would work with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to “drive large scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach” to government, unlike anything seen before, Trump said.
The work is set to conclude by July 4, 2026—the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world, already stood to benefit from Trump’s victory, with the billionaire entrepreneur expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favorable government treatment. With many links to Washington, Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump’s presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump had said he would offer Musk a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, U.S. October 27, 2024.
“It’s clear that Musk will have a massive role in the Trump White House with his increasing reach clearly across many federal agencies,” equities analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities said in a research note.
“We believe the major benefits for Musk and Tesla far outweigh any negatives as this continues to be a ‘poker move for the ages’ by Musk betting on Trump,” Ives said.
Trump likened the efficiency effort to the Manhattan Project, the U.S. undertaking to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two, while Musk promised transparency.
Republican Presidential Candidate former President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency,” Musk said on X, inviting the public to provide tips. “We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,” Musk said.
Musk said at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in October that the federal budget could be reduced by “at least” $2 trillion. Discretionary spending, including defense spending, is estimated to total $1.9 trillion out of $6.75 trillion in total federal outlays for fiscal 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook,” Musk said at the rally.
The acronym for the new department – DOGE – also references the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Musk promotes.
Businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy attends Donald Trump’s campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point Action, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 24, 2024.
In August, Musk and Tesla successfully had a federal lawsuit dismissed that accused them of defrauding investors by hyping Dogecoin and engaging in insider trading, which resulted in billions of dollars in losses.
Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump and then threw his support behind the former president after dropping out. Ramaswamy said the appointment means he is withdrawing from consideration for the pending U.S. Senate appointment in Ohio, where Governor Mike DeWine will appoint a replacement for JD Vance, who will become Trump’s vice president when they are inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead Department of Government Efficiency: Trump
