Donald Trump taps Elon Musk for new Department of Government Efficiency project

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that campaign mega-donor Elon Musk will lead the incoming administration’s planned Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE,” alongside former Republican candidate 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 said in the announcement.

“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” he added, referring, of course, to the World War II-era research and development program to produce nuclear weapons.

Together, Musk and Ramaswamy will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”

The announcement came amid a spate of Trump Administration personnel announcements, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security and Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State.

Musk — who donated $75 million to Trump’s campaign — said Thursday that DOGE will “send shock waves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”

Musk and Ramaswamy’s tenure would run until July 4, 2026.

“A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump said. “I am confident they will succeed!”

This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 5:12 PM.