President-elect Donald Trump has announced that billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and ally of Trump, will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
“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,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Department of Government Efficiency will not be a federal agency in the U.S. government but will provide advice and guidance “outside of government” and partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to “drive structural government reform,” Trump said.
The president-elect did not detail how this new department would be funded.
“I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans,” Trump added.
Trump said the new department would target the “massive waste and fraud” he says exists within the $6.5 trillion of government spending.
In this split image, Elon Musk speaks during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2024 in New York City, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 6, 2023.
Jim Watson and Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE
During the 2024 election cycle, Trump was vocal about including Musk in his administration if elected.
While speaking to the Economic Club of New York in September, Trump announced Musk would lead a task force to conduct a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government” and make “recommendations for drastic reforms.”
Following Trump’s comments, Musk took to X, saying, “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.”
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who suspended his presidential bid in January, has been a vocal advocate of Trump’s campaign.
Earlier this month, Ramaswamy said the president-elect would bring the country together and urged Democrats who did not vote for him to “give him a chance.”
“What you’re hearing from Donald Trump is he is going to be a president for all Americans,” Ramaswamy said. “I think Donald Trump is focused on what makes people’s lives better. And actually, my message to Democrats out there, even those who didn’t vote for Donald Trump, is to give him a chance to actually make your life better,” he added.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Source: abc news
