Elon Musk has been elected for the Doge by Trump with the aim of cost-cutting
Credit:X:@ElonFactsX
US elected President Donald Trump has chosen Elon Musk to be part of his political team in a role within the ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ a new role which seeks to cut government expenditure.
Recently-elected US President Donald Trump has been busy selecting his crew on board with him for his second-time presidency. And amongst them is Elon Musk.
The controversial President-elect has brought Musk onto the team with the hope of dismantling bureaucracy when he returns to the White House next year. To do this, he has placed Musk firmly on the leader board to marshal a brand new ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ alongside his soon-to-be partner-in-crime, biotech investor, Vivek Ramaswamy. Tech wizard, Elon Musk practically coined his own department title. Known acronymically as Doge (Department of Government Efficiency), it recalls Musk’s favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
Musk invested millions in Trump’s re-election campaign
Trump’s plans for a more efficient government and his insistence on cost-cutting have found a natural match in Musk. Musk invested millions in celebrity backing for Trump’s re-election bid and was well-tipped for an administrative role, which has so far been of great benefit to royalists. Having gained these brownie points with Trump, Musk has climbed up the political ladder. But only to be Trump’s second-hand man. Trump affirms that the pair would only be acting in an advisory capacity and that the Doge would not be an official government department. God forbid the two ever joined forces as joint-president!
Trump has selected Musk as well as Pete Hegseth and Vivek Ramaswamy
Trump has also been rallying the troops for the rest of his political team. He has scouted Fox News host and military veteran, Pete Hegseth to be his defence secretary and has a one-time Republican rival, Marco Rubio lined up to be his new secretary of state. Ramaswamy, elected for the Doge alongside Musk, ran as a Republican candidate for president earlier in 2024 against Trump, before deciding to drop out, change direction and endorse him.
What exactly is the Doge and how will it operate?
So, what exactly is the Doge and how will it operate within Trump’s new political agenda for the US? First and foremost, it is a new organisation which will not, as yet, become an official department before being approved by Congress and contracting a whole staff team (which is not a likely scenario). On Tuesday night, Trump commented that it will ‘provide advice and guidance from outside of government.’ He stressed the need for efficiency with mention of ‘slashing’ excess regulations and ‘cutting wasteful expendutures.’ And to do all this cutting and slashing, Musk and Ramaswamy have been head hunted to collaborate with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to combat the ‘massive waste and fraud’ in $6.5tn (£5.1tn) of annual government spending.
Musk and Ramaswamy to deliver spending cuts by July 4 2026
Musk and Ramaswamy might be celebrating their ascension into politics right now but lets not forget that they have a deadline. Trump aims for them to deliver their efficiency promise for the government by no other than American Independence Day (July 4), 2026. This depends on whether Musk can focus on the goal whilst his Dogecoin soars in value after his recent promotion into Trump’s band.
So, why Musk? In business, Musk is well-known for his opposition to government overregulation and his efficient mindset. This manifested itself in his takeover of Twitter where the brandname was reduced to a simple X and staff numbers were chopped by the thousands. Musk, who also founded SpaceX and Tesla, has called for significant cuts to US federal spending, as well as the elimination of hundreds of overlapping federal agencies.
Musk’s clean-up operation of the US government has been backed up by Ramaswamy, who last year expressed plans to dismiss more than 75% of the federal work force and shut down several major agencies. Musk, who has been spending his recent days at Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida, responded to his position on X saying: ‘Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!’
With two globally-recognized trojans working together for the US, time will tell how this new-found working relationship pans out.
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