President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second term.
“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,” Trump said in a statement.
The announcement of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy leading a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in President-elect Donald Trump’s second term has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, particularly given Musk’s leadership of companies that already have lucrative government contracts.
It remains unclear how the department, which Trump described as a body to provide “advice and guidance from outside of Government,” would function.
There is also uncertainty over whether a Congress fully controlled by Republicans would support such a sweeping overhaul of government spending and operations.
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Trump initially proposed creating a government efficiency commission in September as part of his broader economic plans, announcing that Musk had agreed to lead it if he were to return to the White House.
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump quoted Musk as saying, “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Ramaswamy, who had previously run against Trump in the Republican primary before endorsing him, responded on X with his campaign slogan, “SHUT IT DOWN,” a call for eliminating federal agencies.
During his campaign, Ramaswamy made reducing government waste a central plank of his platform, proposing to eliminate agencies such as the FBI, the Department of Education, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Musk, a vocal critic of government regulations, has also pledged to cut back on them if appointed to lead the department.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has suggested creating a system that could threaten layoffs for wasteful government employees, while offering severance packages to those affected.
Musk had previously proposed forming such a commission in an August conversation with Trump on X, to which Trump responded, “I’d love it.” A few days later, Musk posted an image of himself at a podium labeled “Department of Government Efficiency,” with the acronym “D.O.G.E.,” a reference to his favorite meme and cryptocurrency, and offered to serve.
On Tuesday, Musk vowed the department would operate with full transparency, posting all its actions online and teasing a “leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars.”
Trump said the work of the new department would conclude by July 4, 2026, aligning with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump stated. “I am confident they will succeed!”
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