Ramaswamy and Musk to head 'government efficiency' department, raising concerns about conflict of interest
The announcement that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new non-governmental organization, the Ministry of Government Efficiency, immediately raised questions about conflicts of interest.
CNN notes that both men “lead companies with existing and lucrative government contracts.” Mr. Musk runs companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, X, and Neuralink, while Mr. Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotech entrepreneur.
In a statement announcing his new role, the president-elect said: donald trump Regarding Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy, he said:
Together, these two great Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle the bureaucracy, cut overregulation, cut wasteful spending, and rebuild our federal agencies. Sho.
Reacting to his appointment, Mr Ramaswamy posted on X what he saw as government bureaucracy: “Shut it down.”
Ramaswamy also announced that he is terminating his appointment to the Ohio Senate to replace J.D. Vance, who is set to become vice president.
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President-elect Donald Trump has continued to make appointments as he prepares to return to the White House. Former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, who once said he dreamed of building a holiday home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, will be the US ambassador to Israel
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South Dakota governor Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security. Fox News host Pete Hegseth will serve as secretary of defense, while John Ratcliffe will lead the CIA and William Joseph McGinley will serve as White House counsel
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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency”, which Trump says will not actually be a government agency. They will, according to Trump, work from outside the government to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”. Both men already have lucrative government contracts, leading to questions about an immediate conflict of interest
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Republican Rep David Valadao sealed California’s 22nd Congressional district, beating Democrat Rudy Salas, and edging the Republicans closer to the 218 mark which will give them control of the House
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The judge in Trump’s Manhattan criminal hush-money case has postponed deciding on whether to throw out the conviction on presidential immunity grounds
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Joe Biden’s administration has said it will not halt arms transfers to Israel, despite eight international aid groups saying Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has failed to meet US demands to increase humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip
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The announcement that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new non-governmental “Department of Government Efficiency” has immediately raised questions about conflicts of interest.
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Both men, CNN notes, “lead companies with existing, lucrative government contracts”. Musk runs companies including Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink while Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotech entrepreneur.
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In his statement announcing the new roles, president-elect Donald Trump said of Musk and Ramaswamy:
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Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal agencies.
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Reacting to his appointment, and giving his view of what he sees as government bureaucracy, Ramaswamy posted to X to say “Shut it down”.
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Ramaswamy also announced he was ending his bid to be appointed Ohio senator in stead of JD Vance, who is set to become vice president.
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main events
Mehdi Hasan Today, he asks the Guardian, “Is Donald Trump a dovish foreign policy?”
You can read it here…
The Associated Press described the FOX News host. pete hegsethDonald Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense is “an untested individual with little experience on the world stage to take over the world's largest and most powerful military.”
The news agency noted that Hegseth had previously expressed the view in an interview on the podcast “The Sean Ryan Show” that allowing women to serve in combat would increase U.S. military casualties. There is.
He is quoted there as saying:
All the men and women acting together complicates the situation, complicates the battle, and means more casualties.
He said that while minority men and white men can perform similarly, that's not the case for women, and by opening combat slots to women, “we've changed the criteria for putting women there; “We have changed the capabilities of that unit,” he added. ”.
Appointed by Donald Trump Vivek Ramaswamy Outside of the United States, he is less well-known than Elon Musk.
Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against President Trump, but withdrew from the race in early 2024.
His parents immigrated to the United States from Kerala, and he attended Harvard and Yale universities. The 39-year-old lives in New York, has a home in Ohio, and is married with two children.
Forbes says he is one of the 20 youngest billionaires in the United States, and his businesses include biotech company Roivant Sciences, Chapter Medicare, and he also worked for hedge fund QVT. It is said that
Ramaswamy is also known for broadcasting himself urinating during Live X Talk, which featured the likes of Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Andrew Tate and Matt Gates.
The US political website “The Hill” report The hard-line Trumpist Republican Freedom Caucus in the House has dropped its opposition to the speaker's reelection. mike johnsonthere are no plans to name a replacement candidate.
Instead, it is thought the group could force a recorded vote on Mr Johnson's role and register opposition to his reappointment. The caucus is unhappy with proposed rule changes aimed at enforcing better party discipline against more recalcitrant House Republicans.
joe biden I will host donald trump It will take place later today at the White House as part of transition efforts between the current and incoming administrations.
White House press secretary yesterday Karine Jean Pierre he told reporters.[Biden] He believes in norms, he believes in our institutions, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power. That's the standard. That's what should happen. ”
According to Reuters, brian vanceA Trump transition spokesperson said, “Trump-Vance transition attorneys continue to have a constructive dialogue with Biden-Harris administration attorneys regarding all agreements contemplated in the Presidential Transition Act.'' said.
In a CNN analysis, Stephen Collinson said: donald trumpThe successive announcements were “a night of shock and awe in MAGA.''
The selection of people like Elon Musk, Kristi Noem, and Pete Hegseth was, in part, a nod to the aspirations of President Trump's voters, the president-elect's own outsider brand, and his deeply developed thirst for loyalty. The purpose is to embody it.
His choice of ultra-loyalists stems from Trump's frustration with how establishment military officers, bureaucrats and traditional Washington operatives suppressed his most extreme impulses during his first term. Born.
But Trump is also taking risks. It makes sense to choose outside revolutionaries to destroy governance, but many of those he chooses lack deep experience and knowledge of the sectors they run.
Amid reports of controversial appointments; Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy The Washington Post, which will lead a non-governmental commission to cut government spending, reminded readers of what the commission said earlier this year.
I quote President Ramaswami said, “We have a fourth branch of government that our Founding Fathers never imagined: the administrative state. Eliminating redundant bureaucracy is good for our economy and our national spirit.'' It will be.”
The Washington Post further states:
A person familiar with the effort, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate negotiations, said details of the group's funding would be revealed soon. of [Republicans] The official added that the company had been talking about waste reduction for years to no avail, and the campaign concluded that “an outsider with a more entrepreneurial approach” was better suited for the task.
Some Trump advisers see Musk's committee as an opportunity to realize long-held goals of cutting federal spending and regulation. They point to the Grace Commission, a Reagan administration-era commission that recommended billions of dollars in spending cuts. Under the model that some Trump advisers hope Musk's plan will emulate, the commission will identify hundreds or thousands of examples of wasteful government programs and regulations and support the president's support. and asked Congress to approve its recommendations.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax and spend, meaning any changes to the federal budget recommended by Musk's committee would have to be approved by the House and Senate.
Philip Wen
As my colleague Philip Wen pointed out in his report on the appointments of Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswami to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, many details remain unclear. It remains as it is.
It is not clear how the organization will operate. This could be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which sets out how external bodies that advise the government should operate and be accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements and divest significant holdings related to their jobs to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy are not official federal employees, so they do not face these requirements or ethical restrictions.
President Trump said the agency would “conduct a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for fundamental reform.”
President Trump said their work would be completed by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller, more efficient government would be a “gift” to the country as it marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Read more: President Trump selects Elon Musk to lead government efficiency division
Ramaswamy and Musk to head 'government efficiency' department, raising concerns about conflict of interest
The announcement that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new non-governmental organization, the Ministry of Government Efficiency, immediately raised questions about conflicts of interest.
CNN notes that both men “lead companies with existing and lucrative government contracts.” Mr. Musk runs companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, X, and Neuralink, while Mr. Ramaswamy is a wealthy biotech entrepreneur.
In a statement announcing his new role, the president-elect said: donald trump Regarding Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy, he said:
Together, these two great Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle the bureaucracy, cut overregulation, cut wasteful spending, and rebuild our federal agencies. Sho.
Reacting to his appointment, Mr Ramaswamy posted on X what he saw as government bureaucracy: “Shut it down.”
Ramaswamy also announced that he is terminating his appointment to the Ohio Senate to replace J.D. Vance, who is set to become vice president.
Welcome and opening overview…
Welcome to the Guardian's ongoing coverage of US politics. The heading is as follows…
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President-elect Donald Trump continues to make appointments in preparation for his return to the White House. Former Governor of Arkansas mike huckabeeThe man who once said he dreamed of building a vacation home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank becomes the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
-
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security. fox news host pete hegseth He will serve as Secretary of Defense, John Ratcliffe He will lead the CIA, William Joseph McGinley Will serve as White House advisor
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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump says is not actually a government agency.. According to President Trump, they will work together from outside the government to “drive major structural reforms and create an unprecedented entrepreneurial approach to government.” Both men already have lucrative government contracts, raising questions about an immediate conflict of interest.
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republican lawmaker david valadao Locked down California's 22nd Congressional District and defeated Democrats Rudy SalasAnd Republicans are closing in on their 218 goal of winning a House majority.
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judge of playing cardsDecision on whether to overturn conviction in Manhattan criminal hush case case postponed due to presidential immunity
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joe bidenThe administration said it would not halt arms transfers to Israel, even though eight international aid groups said: Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuGovernment failed to meet US demands to increase humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza Strip
