Trump names Musk, Ramaswamy to lead newly formed Department of Government Efficiency

Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller government would be a "gift" to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

By REUTERS NOVEMBER 13, 2024 02:45 Updated: NOVEMBER 13, 2024 03:21

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump reacts during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, October 5, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA/FILE PHOTO)

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk and Ramaswamy "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.

Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a "gift" to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The appointments reward two Trump supporters from the private sector.

Their entrepreneurial backgrounds

Musk leads electric car company Tesla, social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX, while Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump and then threw his support behind the former president after dropping out.

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy holds up a handwritten sign referring to fellow candidate Nikki Haley as he speaks during the fourth Republican debate on December 6, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER)

Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump's presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump had said he would offer Musk, the world's richest person, a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.

The acronym of the new department - DOGE - coincides with the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Musk promotes.

"This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!" Musk said, according to Trump's statement, which called the new government initiative "potentially 'The Manhattan Project' of our time," referring to the US plan to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two.