Billionaire Elon Musk and businessman-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy were chosen by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead his government’s Department of Government Efficiency as he finalizes cabinet appointments for his tenure beginning in January 2025.
Donald Trump declared in a statement on Tuesday that Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the responsibility of “slashing excess regulations” and “cutting wasteful expenditures.”
Trump’s statement continues, “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 — essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement. The system and everyone involved in government waste, which is a large number of people, will be rocked by this!” According to the statement, Elon Musk made the announcement following his appointment to the new government position.
Donald Trump compared the new department to “The Manhattan Project of our time,” claiming that Republican politicians had long dreamed about its realization.
“I’m excited for Elon and Vivek to improve the lives of all Americans while also implementing improvements to the government bureaucracy that prioritize efficiency. Crucially, we will eradicate the enormous fraud and waste that permeates our USD 6.5 trillion in yearly government expenditures,” the president-elect declared.
After the announcement, Vivek Ramaswamy said on X, “And yes, this means I’m withdrawing myself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio. Whoever Governor DeWine appoints to JD’s seat has some big shoes to fill. I will help them however I can”.
During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Elon Musk claimed he could reduce the US federal budget by at least $2 trillion. This is more than Congress spends on defense and other government agency operations each year. Reducing such a significant portion of the federal budget will necessitate reducing several of the most well-known entitlement programs, including Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits.
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