Donald Trump chooses Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead government efficiency effort

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world

Donald Trump has named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “department of government efficiency”, giving the two private-sector entrepreneurs charge of a promised effort to slash rules, bureaucracy and spending throughout government.

“Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!” Musk, the world’s richest man and an ardent Trump backer, wrote on his X social media platform. “We will not go quietly, @elonmusk,” Ramaswamy wrote in another X post.

Trump said the duo would work with him and the Office of Management and Budget until July 4 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The acronym for the new department, “Doge”, is also the name of a crypto token Musk has promoted.

The newly created White House advisory effort will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” looking for ways to “dismantle” bureaucracy, “slash” regulations, “cut” spending and “restructure” agencies, Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

The president-elect’s decision unites Musk, the leader of Tesla, X, xAI and SpaceX, with the biotech entrepreneur who ran in the 2024 Republican primary before dropping out and endorsing Trump.

Musk, whose net worth is more than $300bn, according to Forbes, became one of Trump’s most influential supporters during the campaign and has been by his side since the election as Trump has issued a flurry of nominees, appointments and new policy goals ahead of his second term.

During the 2024 campaign, Musk publicly endorsed Trump, hosted him on X, rallied for him in Pennsylvania and bankrolled a Super Pac that spent $172mn, according to the non-profit OpenSecrets.

On the campaign trail, Musk called for cutting $2tn — which would represent a significant chunk of the $6.7tn in spending from fiscal year 2024’s budget — and said the election was crucial to cutting away regulations that would strangle his dream of colonising Mars.

Musk’s bet on Trump has been a boon for Tesla, the electric-vehicle maker he runs, whose stock has jumped almost 50 per cent over the past month. 

Officials appointed by outgoing US President Joe Biden pursued ambitious rulemaking agendas and tough enforcement policies throughout his presidency in antitrust, finance, climate and other areas. 

Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, launched a broad set of rules ranging from cyber security to climate disclosures and equity market reforms. 

Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, and Jonathan Kanter, head of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, have cracked down on anti-competitive conduct across the economy, and Khan has also proposed measures including a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements. 

Some pillars of regulators’ agendas have been thrown out by US judges amid fierce pushback from corporate America. Some market participants strategically filed legal challenges in venues known to be more sympathetic to business’s views.

The conservative majority on the US Supreme Court has also been gradually curbing the power of federal agencies, handing down a series of decisions earlier this year that made it harder for regulators to introduce rules, curtailed their use of in-house courts for enforcement and made it easier for businesses to challenge existing measures.