Trump picks ‘wonderful American’ Elon Musk to lead new efficiency department
Elon Musk (L) has been a vocal support of Donald Trump. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Elon Musk has been named by Donald Trump as his choice to lead the US government’s newly created efficiency department.
Billionaire Musk, who, ahead of the presidential election said he was “f**ked” if Trump didn’t win, and repeated his claim that the “woke mind virus” was replacing religion in the country, backed the president-elect vocally and financially in the closing weeks on the campaign trail.
Musk and Republican former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will jointly run the Department of Government Efficiency, which is already being referred to as DOGE.
The news was announced by Trump on Tuesday (12 November). The department will not be a government agency, meaning the pair will work outside the administration to offer the White House “advice and guidance”, the president-elect said.
🚨 BREAKING: Trump announces Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head the Department of Government Efficiency.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 13, 2024
It will "slash excess regulations" and "cut wasteful expenditures." pic.twitter.com/sBxGW9okcr
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste – which is a lot of people,” Musk said of his appointment.
Trump added that the duo’s role will also entail partnering with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.
He added that 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”.
Musk pledges to document his work
Taking to his own social media platform, X/Twitter, Musk wrote: “All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know.
“We will also have a leader board for the most-insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.”
Ramaswamy reposted Trump’s statement, adding: “We will not go gently.”
It is not clear how the organisation will operate but it could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which regulates how external groups that advise the government operate, and be accountable to the public, The Guardian pointed out.
Federal employees are required to disclose their assets and connections, to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings that relate to their work. But because it appears that Musk and Ramaswamy will not be formal federal workers, it’s likely they will not face those barriers to taking up their new roles.
It’s also unclear whether the pair will have to be confirmed by the senate as other heads of department do.
Earlier this week, Musk hit out at Saturday Night Live after the show aired a skit about him. He tweeted: “They are so mad Donald Trump won,” alongside several cry-laughing emojis.
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