Billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the upcoming US administration under President-elect Donald Trump.
The agency’s namesake is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency Musk advocated in 2013 that initially started as a joke, whose namesake itself originated from an internet meme of a Shiba Inu known as “doge.”
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Trump’s campaign office said Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for [Trump’s] Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies” in an announcement. where Trump also hailed it as the “Manhattan Project” of the modern world, referencing the 1940s US nuclear program that developed the world’s first atomic bombs.
It said DOGE would likely serve as an advisory body separated from the government rather than a government agency subjugated to the official administration.
“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before,” the announcement reads.
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DOGE’s work to “drive out the massive waste and fraud” within the government’s annual $6.5 trillion spending will conclude “no later than July 4, 2026” Trump is quoted saying in the announcement.
“I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all,” he said.
Musk, the world’s richest man, played a major role in Trump’s campaign, spending over $110 million of his personal fortune to help get him elected. Trump previously said he aimed to include Musk in some form of advisory role in his upcoming government.
Musk has been providing Ukraine with Starlink satellite communication systems through his company SpaceX, where the contracts were paid by the Pentagon. However, Musk has been increasingly at odds with Ukrainians due to statements of his that aligned with the Kremlin’s narratives.
Musk reportedly took part in a private phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Nov. 6, after Trump’s victory, according to Ukrainian officials.
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