Donald Trump chooses Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead efforts to improve government efficiency
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Donald Trump has appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead “government efficiency,” putting the two private-sector entrepreneurs in charge of a promised effort to cut regulations, bureaucracy and spending across the government.
“Threatening democracy? No, threatening the IMPORTANT MINISTRY!!!” Musk, the world’s richest person and a zealot Trump supporter, wrote on his social media platform X. “We will not go quietly, @elonmusk,” Ramaswamy wrote in another X post.
Trump said the duo will work with him and the Office of Management and Budget until July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The new division’s acronym, “Doge,” is also the name of a cryptocurrency musk has been promoted.
Trump said in a statement Tuesday that the newly formed White House advisory effort will seek to “eliminate” bureaucracy, “cut” regulations and “cut” spending and “restructuring” agencies.
Trump’s decision aligns Musk – leader of Tesla, X, xAI and SpaceX – with the biotech entrepreneur, who ran in the 2024 Republican primary before dropping out and supporting for Trump.
Musk, who has a net worth of more than $300 billion, according to Forbes, has become one of Trump’s inner circle. most influential supporters throughout the campaign and has been at the president-elect’s side since the election as Trump launched a series of new nominations, appointments and policy goals ahead of his second term.
During the 2024 election campaign, Musk publicly supported Trump, hosting him on X, campaigning for him in Pennsylvania and sponsoring a Super Pac that spent $172 million, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets.
During the campaign, Musk called for $2 trillion in cuts – a significant portion of the $6.7 trillion in spending from the fiscal year 2024 budget – and said the election was important in cutting regulations that could stifle his dream of colonizing Mars.
Musk’s bet on Trump has benefited Tesla, the electric vehicle maker he runs, whose shares have surged nearly 50% in the past month.
Officials appointed by outgoing US President Joe Biden have pursued ambitious policymaking agendas and tough enforcement policies throughout his presidency. antitrustfinance, climate and other areas.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has introduced a broad set of rules, from cybersecurity to climate disclosure and equity markets reform.
Lina Khan, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, and Jonathan Kanter, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, have cracked down on anticompetitive behavior across the economy, and Khan has also proposed measures includes a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements.
Several pillars of the regulators’ agenda have been struck down by US judges amid fierce opposition from American corporations. Some market participants have strategically launched legal challenges in venues known to be more sympathetic to corporate views.
The conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court is also gradually limiting the power of federal agencies, issuing a series of decisions earlier this year that made it more difficult for regulators to make decisions. rules, restricting the use of internal courts to enforce and enforce legal provisions. it is easier for businesses to challenge existing measures.
