President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly create a new Department of Government Efficiency in his second administration.
Trump’s statement said Musk and Ramaswamy were appointed to “reduce excessive regulation, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize federal agencies.” The former president added that the department, led by Musk and Ramaswamy, would partner with the White House Office of Management and Budget in an effort to “advance major structural reform.” (Related: Presidents Trump and Elon Musk reportedly met with President Zelenskiy about future aid to Ukraine)
“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, we will continue to improve overall government spending by $6.5 trillion annually. to eliminate the enormous amount of waste and fraud that exists in the United States,” Trump’s statement said.
“This is going to be a shock to the entire system and to those involved in government waste – a lot of people!” Musk said in a statement included in President Trump’s press release. .
🚨Statement from President Donald J. Trump
Let’s go, @Eron Musk @VivekGRAmaswamy! pic.twitter.com/YKT1V1UBVR
— Caroline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) November 13, 2024
A threat to democracy?
No, it’s a threat to the bureaucracy!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024
At a pre-election campaign rally, Musk previewed what his newly created Department of Government Efficiency could accomplish.
“At the end of the day, you’re being taxed. You’re being taxed. All government spending is tax. So whether it’s direct taxation or overall government spending; It’s either going to be inflation or it’s going to be a direct tax,” Musk said.
“Your money is being wasted and the Ministry of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your wallet,” he added.
I won’t go kindly, @Eron Musk. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/sbVka2vTiW
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRAmaswamy) November 13, 2024
Ramaswamy was once considered as President Trump’s running mate, but was once ruled out and became the former president’s surrogate during his campaign. The relationship between Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump deepened through the 2024 election, when the Tesla CEO launched America PAC to promote vote-getting efforts supporting the former president.
“It would potentially become the ‘Manhattan Project’ of our time. Republican politicians have been dreaming of the ‘DOGE’ goal for a very long time,” the president-elect added in a statement.
