Donald Trump appointed two more prominent political figures to his second administration on Tuesday, naming Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as co-leads on his newly instated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Calling the effort “The Manhattan Project” of our time, the president-elect said, “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.”
BREAKING: President-Elect Donald Trump announces Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) pic.twitter.com/zYtr6qZjeJ
— America (@america) November 13, 2024
Musk, the richest man in the world, will now add another title to his résumé, as promised by Trump on the campaign trail.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in the announcement.
The SpaceX owner posted to his social media platform minutes after the appointment, saying, “The prophecy has been fulfilled.” The X owner replied to a meme of a squirrel, dressed as a medieval knight.
“Threat to democracy?” the Tesla owner then tweeted. “Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
“We will not go gently,” Ramaswamy said in a post to X of his own, following the announcement.
The prophecy has been fulfilled https://t.co/2EgiOBOGeM
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024
The DOGE acronym could also be interpreted as an apparent reference to Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency often discussed by Musk on X. The platform itself has also seen a sharp uptrend since it was clear that Trump would return to the White House.
Trump further noted that the new department will conclude its efforts no later than July 4, 2026, which Trump calls “the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.”
In his statement, Trump said the department’s goal will be to “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” and partner with the White House to “create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
The president-elect added that this program aims to “drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending.”
Ahead of this appointment Tuesday, the president-elect announced his nomination of “Fox & Friends” host Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense.
