Key Takeaways
- Trump announced a new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
- Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead DOGE to cut waste.
- DOGE is an external advisory group, not a federal agency.
President-elect Donald Trump revealed plans for a new initiative, the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, led by Elon Musk and former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Although not a government agency, the group will work outside federal channels, providing advice and support to the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on reducing waste and rethinking government efficiency.
The DOGE initiative’s acronym is a nod to Musk’s preferred cryptocurrency, dogecoin.
Reforming Federal Operations from the Outside
Trump’s announcement described DOGE as an:
Entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before
DOGE’s mission
Musk and Ramaswamy will be tasked with reimagining and streamlining federal agency functions.
Unlike formal government employees, they will not be bound by federal asset disclosure and conflict-of-interest requirements.
Musk has already floated potential savings of up to $2 trillion, roughly a third of the government’s annual budget, through targeted reductions.
Musk: ‘Threat to Bureaucracy’
Musk responded enthusiastically to the initiative on X, stating that DOGE is a “threat to BUREAUCRACY.”
Ramaswamy, who backed Trump after suspending his own presidential campaign in January, joins Musk to implement this efficiency-focused strategy, aligning with Trump’s promise to slash government spending and overhaul federal bureaucracy.
