What Is DOGE? US Department To Be Led By Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy In New Trump Administration

Billionaire and Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk along with Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will be leading the 'Department of Government Efficiency' or DOGE in the Donald Trump-led US Government, the President-elect announced on Wednesday. 

“I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),” Trump said in an X post.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is a newly proposed arm within the upcoming administration under Donald Trump. It was proposed first by Elon Musk and then championed by Trump as a way of revamping government bureaucracy and cutting inefficiencies in the system. The acronym DOGE sounds similar to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which is often supported by Musk.

In a statement, Trump said that Musk and Ramaswamy will be responsible for cutting wasteful expenditures and slashing excess regulations to pave the way for his ‘Save America’ movement.

“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— Essential to the 'Save America' Movement,” he said.

It was not immediately clear how exactly the department would work. However, Trump went on to say that DOGE could be the 'Manhattan Project' of recent times. 

The Manhattan Project was a research and developmental programme led by the US along with the UK and Canada to produce the first nuclear weapons during World War II.

“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. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 trillion of government spending,” Trump said.

He noted that the Ramaswamy and Musk-led department would put long-term Republican dreams into reality as it would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government”. This may mean that the department’s role will be informal.

In a statement, Elon Musk said that DOGE will send “shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in government waste”.

The billionaire revealed that all actions of the department will be posted online to ensure maximum transparency.

“Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know! We will also have a leaderboard for the most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,” he said.

Vivek Ramaswamy said the DOGE will soon start to crowdsource examples of government waste and fraud among others.

“DOGE will soon begin crowdsourcing examples of government waste, fraud, and abuse. Americans voted for drastic government reform & they deserve to be part of fixing it,” he said.

Donald Trump made a roaring comeback to the White House, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the recently concluded US Presidential elections.