Trump says Musk, Ramaswamy will form outside group to advise White House on government efficiency
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” — which, despite its name, is not a government agency.
The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to provide “advice and guidance” to the White House and will work with the Office of Management and Budget to “achieve large-scale structural reforms and create an entrepreneurial approach to government that has never been seen before has been seen before.” He added that this move would shock government systems.
It is not clear how the organization will operate. It could fall under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how outside groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant interests related to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal employees, they would not face these requirements or ethical restrictions.
Musk posted on X: “Department of Government Efficiency. The merchandise will be (fire emojis).” He later added: “A threat to democracy? No, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election.
The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group resembling a blue-ribbon committee that would recommend ways to cut spending and make the federal government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings — nearly a third of total annual government spending.
Trump had made it clear that Musk would likely not take any full-time position given his other commitments.
“I don’t think I can get him full-time because he’s a little busy sending missiles and all the things he does,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. “He said the waste in this country is insane. And we are going to make sure that Elon Musk becomes our cost-saver.”
Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and endorsed Trump.
Trump said in his statement that the two “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle the government bureaucracy, eliminate redundant regulations, reduce wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.”
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Colvin reported from New York.