November 13th 2024.
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would be heading up a new "Department of Government Efficiency." Despite the name, this department is not a government agency. The acronym "DOGE" was chosen as a playful nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin.
According to a statement from Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy will be working from outside the government to provide advice and guidance to the White House. They will also be partnering with the Office of Management and Budget to implement large-scale structural reforms and bring an entrepreneurial approach to government that has never been seen before.
Trump believes that this move will shake up the traditional systems of government. However, it is still unclear how exactly this organization will operate. It may fall under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which outlines the rules and regulations for external groups that advise the government and hold them accountable to the public.
Unlike formal federal employees, Musk and Ramaswamy will not be required to disclose their assets or divest from any potential conflicts of interest. This exemption is due to the fact that they will not hold official government positions.
Musk took to social media to share his excitement about the new department, announcing that the merch will be available soon. He also jokingly stated that the real threat is not to democracy, but to bureaucracy.
Musk has been a regular presence at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort since his election victory. Trump has previously expressed interest in giving Musk a formal role overseeing a group that would recommend ways to cut spending and increase efficiency within the federal government. Musk has even suggested that he could find over $2 trillion in savings, which is almost a third of the government's annual spending.
However, Trump has acknowledged that Musk's other commitments may prevent him from taking on a full-time role. In a rally in Michigan, Trump stated, "I don't think I can get him full-time because he's a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does. But he said the waste in this country is crazy, and we're going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter."
Ramaswamy, who suspended his own presidential campaign in January, has also thrown his support behind Trump. In his statement, Trump expressed confidence that together, Musk and Ramaswamy will pave the way for his administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, cut wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
