Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney called the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a “PR campaign” in an interview on Monday, but said the department's appointed leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswami He said he respects his efforts in federal reform. government.
“I have nothing but respect for what these gentlemen are trying to do,” Mulvaney said in an interview on NewsNation's “The Hill,” referring to Musk and Ramaswamy.
“I was the last person in charge of reorganizing the government, and it failed miserably,” Mulvaney continued. “I hope they do much better than I did, okay?”
Mulvaney served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the Trump administration before being named acting White House chief of staff. He then served in both roles simultaneously.
“But DOGE is not real,” Mulvaney added. “So the Ministry of Government Efficiency? It's a PR campaign. It has no legal authority. They have the ability to shine a light on wrongdoing and problems within the bureaucracy, and God bless them for that.” To.”
The newly established committee will According to He told President-elect Trump that he would work outside the government to “dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulation, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize federal agencies.”
The committee has members in the Senate and House of Representatives, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), respectively.
Mulvaney suggested that DOGE could take “real action” in two ways, either through Congress or OMB.
“Number one, they can put pressure on Congress to change the law, change civil service rules so they can fire people,” Mulvaney said. “And, and this is absolutely important, they can operate through the Office of Management and Budget, which controls the flow of funds to federal agencies.”
“So everyone talks about Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk. I get it. They're big names. The most important name in this bureaucratic project is the most important person in Washington that no one knows about, the Administration. Probably Russ Vought, who was selected to be the head of the Budget Bureau.
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