Since winning back the presidency, Donald Trump has been busy selecting members of his cabinet. On Tuesday (Nov. 12), the Republican politician shared that entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new branch dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or 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,” the president-elect claimed before calling it “the Manhattan Project” of our time. “To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide [external] advice and guidance... and will partner with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.”
In the same press release, Musk added, “This will send shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!” The tech billionaire also shared a potential logo and teased the possibility of merchandise for DOGE. Notably, the department’s acronym is an apparent reference to the cryptocurrency of the same name, which Musk heavily promoted in the past.
Since the announcement, critics hopped on Twitter – the social media platform that Musk owns – with concerns about the political appointment. Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies researcher Philipp Heimberger tweeted a New York Times-generated chart of federal contracts acquired by the South African mogul. “Looking at government subsidies for Musk’s companies, we can be pretty sure where he will not be cutting,” he theorized. “The conflict of interest is mind-boggling.”
“Third Degree Strategies” host Max Burns provided a more sarcastic take. “Very kind of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to become government officials while remaining in their executive roles at companies that either do business with or have regulatory conflicts with the government,” he quipped.
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