Trump unveils 'DOGE' plan: Musk and Ramaswamy to cut red tape
President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to establish a "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), which will be overseen by Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who participated in the Republican Party presidential primaries. Their goal is to reduce spending and "dismantle bureaucracy."
Donald Trump revealed that the new "department" will function as an external advisory body, collaborating with the White House on state structural reforms. As he pledged during his election campaign, it will be headed by billionaire and Trump campaign supporter Elon Musk. Musk will be joined by his former competitor in the Republican primaries, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
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, Trump stated in his announcement.
"This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!" said Musk, as quoted in Trump's statement. Trump announced that the department is planned to complete its work by the 250th anniversary of the USA's independence, July 4, 2026.
The concept for the commission — including its name — was attributed to Elon Musk, who hails from South Africa and owns Tesla, SpaceX, and the X platform. The acronym for its name (Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE) is a nod to a popular internet meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog. Musk had previously promoted a cryptocurrency named dogecoin, which was inspired by the meme. On Tuesday, he announced that all DOGE activities would be published online for "maximum transparency."
Musk to create a ranking of foolish expenditures
"We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining," Musk posted on his platform. He also shared the new "department" "logo," featuring the well-known meme dog.
During the election campaign, critics of the idea pointed out the potential conflict of interest involving Musk, as his company SpaceX heavily depends on contracts with NASA and the Pentagon.
