President-elect Trump has tapped technology entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswami to lead an advisory group focused on cutting federal spending and reducing the size of government.
President Trump said Tuesday that Musk and Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to “cut excessive regulation and cut wasteful spending” and reorganize federal agencies. Announced.
President Trump said DOGE would “provide advice and guidance from outside the government” and work with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“It would potentially become the 'Manhattan Project' of our time. Republican politicians have long dreamed of a 'DOGE' goal,” the president-elect added.
It was not immediately clear whether DOGE would become a formal member of the Trump administration or advise the White House from outside the government.
“To drive these kinds of fundamental changes, the Department of Government Efficiency provides advice and guidance from outside government, working with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reforms and encourage entrepreneurs to “We plan to create an approach that is unlike anything we've seen before in government.” ”
In a statement shared with President Trump, Musk said DOGE “will send shockwaves through the system and everyone involved in government waste – a lot of people.”
Musk later published a series of posts reacting to the announcement.
“A threat to democracy? No, a threat to bureaucracy!!!” he said in one post.
“We will not be kind to Elon Musk,” Ramaswamy added.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump floated the idea of such a group during the campaign, but there was speculation about whether the idea would come to fruition.
The tech billionaire has become one of President Trump's most vocal allies in recent months, emerging as a cornerstone of the president-elect in the final stages of the campaign.
He was reportedly at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in the days following the election, and continues to speak out on political issues on his platform X.
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, ran in the Republican presidential primary but withdrew his candidacy earlier this year, but was added to Trump's Cabinet after endorsing the president-elect during the campaign and hinting at his interest in certain jobs. It was speculated that he would be nominated.
“I look forward to working with Elon and Vivek to transform the federal bureaucracy with a focus on efficiency, while also making life better for all Americans. Importantly, across $6.5 trillion in annual government spending, we look forward to They will work together to free up the economy and hold the U.S. government accountable to “our people,” President Trump wrote.
The president-elect said the DOGE effort will be “completed” no later than July 4, 2026, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Concerns have been growing in recent weeks about how Musk's dual roles as a technology leader and government leader could lead to conflicts of interest.
Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX and the world's richest man, has government contracts worth billions of dollars with more than a dozen federal agencies.
Former government officials and ethics experts said last month that Musk's leadership of the Government Efficiency Group, which oversees government contracts and agencies that give subsidies to Musk-owned companies, made the committee more objective. He told The Hill that gender and equity could be at risk.
The billionaire has not disclosed whether he plans to change his commitments to other companies as a result of this role.
“DOGE” is also the ticker symbol used by Dogecoin. Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency often touted by Mr. Musk, reached its highest value in more than three years on Tuesday.
Dogecoin's surge comes amid a multi-day rally for crypto companies following Trump's victory last week. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, rose to an all-time high early Tuesday.
Dogecoin has often been associated with Musk,who made the announcementWhat will virtual currency companies look like in 2021?Fund a planned lunar missionat his aerospace company SpaceX.
Updated at 8:23pm ET
