Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday revealing their plans for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Civil service protections cannot protect federal employees from mass layoffs. According to To the editorial. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy outlined a sweeping plan to cut federal regulations and staffing levels, offering the most detailed glimpse yet of President Trump's downsizing strategy.
The two pledged to act as “external volunteers” and work with President Trump's transition team to form a “lean team of small government campaigners.” The team will work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget to realize the vision, they said.
This initiative focuses on three central goals: reducing regulation, reducing administrative expenses, and achieving cost savings. Legal experts and advanced technology can help identify regulations that are beyond Congress's authority. These rules will be presented to President Trump, who can halt enforcement and begin the repeal process through executive action.
Breaking News: Donald Trump Officially Announces Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to Lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pic.twitter.com/9WNn5FojN1
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 13, 2024
“Significant reductions in federal regulation provide a sound industrial rationale for mass layoffs throughout the federal bureaucracy. DOGE will work with agency-embedded appointees to ensure that agencies are “We intend to identify the minimum number of personnel necessary to perform legally mandated functions,” the editorial clarified.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy acknowledged the plan's impact, saying those leaving the workforce should be treated with dignity and proposed incentives such as early retirement and severance pay to ease the transition to the private sector. Despite the common assumption, they argued that civil servant protections cannot prevent these dismissals as long as the dismissals are framed as retrenchments rather than targeting specific employees.
Musk and Ramaswamy also advocated relocating federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., and encouraging voluntary retirement of remote workers who don't want to return to the office full-time. “If federal employees don’t want to appear in court, American taxpayers should not be paying them to stay home, which is a coronavirus-era privilege,” they said.
Ramaswamy said Tuesday that federal employees must return to office full time. He said on X (previously known as Twitter) that unions were rushing to revise agreements to prevent job losses, and that some people were “in tears” at the prospect of a five-day office schedule. He claimed that there was. (Related: Presidents Trump and Elon Musk reportedly met with President Zelenskiy about future aid to Ukraine)
President Trump announced that Musk and Ramaswamy will co-lead the newly created DOGE during his second term. They will work with the White House Office of Management and Budget to streamline federal agencies, reduce wasteful spending, and eliminate excessive regulation.
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