Elon Musk, alongside Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the ‘Department of Government Efficiency‘ in the Donald Trump-led US government, the US President-elect announced on Wednesday. According to Trump, the duo will provide “advice and guidance” from outside the government and will partner with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform.
What is the Department of Government Efficiency?
The Department of Government Efficiency is a new wing in the new Donald Trump-led US government. It was first proposed by Musk and was championed by Trump as a way to cut down on government bureaucracy. The department goes by the acronym ‘DOGE’ – the name of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency often touted by Musk.
While it is not immediately clear how the department would work, according to Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy’s mission under this department will be to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.
Trump believes that ‘DOGE’ can be the ‘Manhattan Project’ of this time. The ‘Manhattan Project’, led by the US in collaboration with the UK and Canada, was a research and developmental program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons.
Musk’s position in this department could represent a conflict of interest for him as the companies he runs, including Tesla and SpaceX, have billions of dollars worth of federal contracts and have benefited from federal spending, including electric vehicle tax credits and infrastructure investments, reported Bloomberg.
What Elon Musk said
Elon Musk, in a statement, said that the ‘DOGE’ will send “shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in government waste”.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” he said.
The staunch supporter of Trump added that all actions of the ‘DOGE’ 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 leaderboard for the most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,” he said.
Donald Trump, who won the presidential elections last week defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris by 69 electoral votes, had hinted at a top position for Musk in the government during his Presidential campaign. Musk was a key part of the Republican’s Presidential campaign who donated over 100 million dollars to Trump’s re-election battle.