Trump Appoints Elon Musk to Co-Lead New Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

President-elect Donald Trump has announced the creation of a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), naming Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, to co-lead the body alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The move signals a bold attempt to reshape the U.S. government, slashing spending, cutting regulations, and dismantling what Trump calls “government bureaucracy.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Trump described DOGE as a “revolutionary” initiative, likening it to the Manhattan Project—a reference to the top-secret U.S. program to develop nuclear weapons during World War II. The department’s mission, according to Trump, will be to “dismantle government bureaucracy,” “cut wasteful expenditures,” and “restructure federal agencies.”

DOGE will not function as a formal government agency. Instead, it will operate as an external advisory body, providing guidance to the White House and collaborating with the Office of Management and Budget to drive sweeping reforms. As such, both Musk and Ramaswamy will avoid the usual Senate confirmation process, allowing them to maintain their private-sector positions while wielding significant influence over government operations.

The department’s focus will include evaluating the necessity of more than 400 federal agencies and possibly reducing the number to just 99. Musk has suggested that “99 is enough,” echoing his belief that government can be far more efficient by eliminating redundant and outdated structures.

Musk and Ramaswamy have both expressed their intent to aggressively target government inefficiency, with Musk citing the potential to cut federal spending by $2 trillion. In public remarks, Musk has argued that the U.S. government is overstaffed and wasteful, suggesting that many federal employees could be moved into the private sector with generous severance packages. “We’ll give very long severances—two years or something like that. The point is not to be cruel, it’s to give people a chance to go do something else,” Musk said during a campaign rally.

Ramaswamy, who gained national attention for his book Woke, Inc. and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, shares Musk’s cost-cutting views. After dropping out of the presidential race, Ramaswamy threw his support behind Trump and will now take on the role of co-leader at DOGE. His track record of pushing for corporate cost reductions and a smaller government aligns with Trump’s vision for the new department.

In addition to appointing Musk and Ramaswamy, Trump has made several other key appointments for his second administration. Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth has been tapped as Defense Secretary, while John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman and Director of National Intelligence, is set to lead the CIA. Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, will head the Department of Homeland Security.