Donald Trump picks Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE under ‘Save America’ movement

Trump 2.0: US President-elect Donald Trump said that Tesla chief Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"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 a statement, AFP reported.

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Musk and Ramaswamy "will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said in a statement.

Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, adding that a smaller and more efficient government would be a "gift" to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Reuters reported.

The appointments reward two Trump supporters from the private sector.

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Tesla, X (formerly Twitter), and SpaceX, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical company and former Republican presidential candidate, have been vocal supporters of President-elect Donald Trump during the campaign.

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Musk, known for his groundbreaking work in electric vehicles, social media, and space exploration, has backed Trump, donating millions to his campaign and making public appearances with the former president. Trump had previously stated that he would offer Musk a prominent role in his administration to help drive efforts aimed at improving government efficiency. Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, dropped out of the race and later endorsed the former president.

Musk and Ramaswamy will work together to streamline federal operations and promote innovations that will make the U.S. government more effective and efficient.

The acronym of the new department,  DOGE, is strikingly similar to the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Musk promotes.

"This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!" Musk said, according to Trump's statement, which called the new government initiative “potentially 'The Manhattan Project' of our time,” referring to the US plan to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two.

(With inputs from agencies)