President-elect Donald Trump says billionaire and X owner Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will run a new limited government efficiency project as part of his administration.
The effort will give Trump's White House a way to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies — essential to the "Save America" movement," Trump said in a Tuesday statement.
The Department of Government Efficiency is not a formal U.S. government agency. It will advise from outside the regular government structure, according to Trump's explanation, and "will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform." He says it will target waste and fraud in the $6.5 trillion of government spending every year.
Trump says the effort will run until no later than July 4 of 2026.
🚨STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) November 13, 2024
Let’s go, @elonmusk @VivekGRamaswamy! pic.twitter.com/YKT1V1UBVR
Musk emerged as a high-profile backer and surrogate for Trump in the later stages of the 2024 campaign. His super PAC spent some $200 million on ads and other support for Trump's election bid.
Trump credited Musk's assistance on Election Day, calling Musk a "star."
Musk is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, a private spaceflight company that has received billions of dollars in subsidy and launch contracts for the U.S. government. The company launches NASA astronauts to the International Space Station and provides launch services for classified National Reconnaissance Office missions.
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Vivek Ramaswamy in 2023 ran as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. During his campaign he promised he would fire three-quarters of federal employees and shutter federal agencies including the Department of Education, Internal Revenue Service, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and parts of the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.
He ended his campaign in early 2024 and endorsed Trump.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
