Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 months ago on
November 12, 2024

Elon Musk speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” — which is not, despite the name, a government agency.

The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.

It’s not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.

Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.

Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election.

The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings — nearly a third of total annual government spending.

Trump had made clear that Musk would likely not hold any kind of full-time position, given his other commitments.

“I don’t think I can get him full-time because he’s a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. “He said the waste in this country is crazy. And we’re going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter.”

Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump.

Trump said in his statement the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

RFK Jr Plans to Phase Out Artificial Dyes From the US Food Supply

DON'T MISS

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

DON'T MISS

Israeli Strikes Kill 17 in Gaza and Destroy Heavy Equipment Needed to Clear Rubble

DON'T MISS

Clovis Awards Recycling Contract Amid Controversy

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for 2020 Sexual Assault

DON'T MISS

Student Loans in Default Will Be Sent for Collection. Here’s What to Know for Borrowers

DON'T MISS

Reedley Man Dies After Being Hit Twice While Walking on Manning Avenue

DON'T MISS

Brock Purdy Reports to 49ers Spring Camp, but Where Is George Kittle?

DON'T MISS

OpenAI Would Buy Google’s Chrome, Exec Testifies at Trial

DON'T MISS

Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate

UP NEXT

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

UP NEXT

Israeli Strikes Kill 17 in Gaza and Destroy Heavy Equipment Needed to Clear Rubble

UP NEXT

Visalia Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for 2020 Sexual Assault

UP NEXT

Student Loans in Default Will Be Sent for Collection. Here’s What to Know for Borrowers

UP NEXT

Reedley Man Dies After Being Hit Twice While Walking on Manning Avenue

UP NEXT

Brock Purdy Reports to 49ers Spring Camp, but Where Is George Kittle?

UP NEXT

OpenAI Would Buy Google’s Chrome, Exec Testifies at Trial

UP NEXT

Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate

UP NEXT

At Least 20 Feared Killed in Militant Attack on Tourists in Indian Kashmir

UP NEXT

Rubio Will Not Attend Ukraine Peace Talks in London

Clovis Awards Recycling Contract Amid Controversy

48 minutes ago

Visalia Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for 2020 Sexual Assault

58 minutes ago

Student Loans in Default Will Be Sent for Collection. Here’s What to Know for Borrowers

1 hour ago

Reedley Man Dies After Being Hit Twice While Walking on Manning Avenue

2 hours ago

Brock Purdy Reports to 49ers Spring Camp, but Where Is George Kittle?

3 hours ago

OpenAI Would Buy Google’s Chrome, Exec Testifies at Trial

3 hours ago

Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate

3 hours ago

At Least 20 Feared Killed in Militant Attack on Tourists in Indian Kashmir

3 hours ago

Rubio Will Not Attend Ukraine Peace Talks in London

4 hours ago

Work on East Orosi’s Decrepit Sewer System Can’t Start Soon Enough, Say Fed Up Residents

4 hours ago

RFK Jr Plans to Phase Out Artificial Dyes From the US Food Supply

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Tuesday said they would phase out petroleum-based artificial colors in the nation’s food supply,...

13 minutes ago

13 minutes ago

RFK Jr Plans to Phase Out Artificial Dyes From the US Food Supply

18 minutes ago

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

22 minutes ago

Israeli Strikes Kill 17 in Gaza and Destroy Heavy Equipment Needed to Clear Rubble

48 minutes ago

Clovis Awards Recycling Contract Amid Controversy

Elijah Silva, 24, of Visalia, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 2020 sexual assault of an unconscious woman following a high-speed crash on Christmas Eve. (Tulare County DA)
58 minutes ago

Visalia Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for 2020 Sexual Assault

1 hour ago

Student Loans in Default Will Be Sent for Collection. Here’s What to Know for Borrowers

2 hours ago

Reedley Man Dies After Being Hit Twice While Walking on Manning Avenue

George Kittle vs. Detroit
3 hours ago

Brock Purdy Reports to 49ers Spring Camp, but Where Is George Kittle?

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend