Trump chooses Elon Musk to head government efficiency department

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Musk, who has called for major spending cuts, has been chosen alongside biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (Doge). This acronym is a nod to Musk’s favourite crypto-currency, Dogecoin.

President Trump said the two would act in an advisory capacity and that the Doge would not be an official government department.

The same day, Trump nominated another political newcomer, Fox News host and former military veteran Pete Hegseth, to be Defence Secretary.

Musk invested millions of dollars in Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and was strongly tipped to play a role in an administration that has so far rewarded loyalists. In his election campaign, Mr Trump himself outlined a cost-cutting plan for Mr Musk.

Since winning last week’s election, Mr Trump has been putting together his leadership team. Marco Rubio, another of his former Republican rivals, is said to be in line to become his new Secretary of State.

The roles of Musk and Ramaswamy

In business, Musk has become known for his opposition to perceived government overregulation and his approach to cost-cutting – most notably after he took over Twitter, which he rebranded X and laid off thousands of staff.

Musk, who also founded SpaceX and Tesla, recently called for at least $2tn in cuts to US federal spending, nearly a third of the government’s budget, without offering specifics. He has also proposed eliminating hundreds of federal agencies, arguing that many of them have overlapping areas of responsibility.

In a press release from Trump’s campaign, Musk said: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people.”

After the announcement, Musk posted on X: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”

Ramaswamy reposted Trump’s announcement on social media saying “we will not go gently”. He also said he was withdrawing from consideration to fill incoming US Vice-President JD Vance’s soon-to-be-vacated Ohio Senate seat.

Last year, while running for president, Ramaswamy said he would fire more than 75% of the federal work force and close down several major agencies, including the Department of Education, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Since Trump’s election victory last week, Musk has reportedly spent every day with Trump at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

He also took part in a recent phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

President-elect Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy would complete their work by 4 July (American Independence Day) 2026.