DOGE: Musk selected by Trump for new cost-cutting role
US President-elect Donald Trump selects Elon Musk to assist with government cost-cutting as part of his push to ‘dismantle’ bureaucracy upon his return to the White House next year
US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Elon Musk to assist with government cost-cutting as part of his push to “dismantle” bureaucracy upon his return to the White House next year.
Tech billionaire Musk, a proponent of significant spending reductions, was chosen along with biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge). The acronym playfully references Musk’s favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
Trump stated that Musk and Ramaswamy would serve in an advisory role, and that Doge would not be an official government department.
On the same day, Trump nominated another political newcomer – Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth – as his choice for defence secretary.
Musk, who contributed millions to Trump’s successful re-election campaign, had been widely expected to take a role in the administration, which has so far favoured loyalists. Trump himself laid out a government cost-cutting role for Musk during the campaign.
Ramaswamy ran as a Republican presidential candidate earlier this year before dropping out and endorsing Trump.
Since his victory in last week’s election, Trump has been assembling his top team, with another former Republican rival, Marco Rubio, reportedly in contention for the role of secretary of state.
Trump appears poised to receive significant congressional support for his legislative agenda, with Republicans having secured the Senate and nearing control of the House.
What is the Doge?
How the Doge will function remains to be seen. The organisation does not yet exist, and if created, it is not expected to be an official department. Official government agencies require an act of Congress to be established and typically employ thousands of staff.
In Tuesday night’s announcement, Trump explained that it will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government.” He said the initiative aims to help his administration “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.”
Trump stated that Musk and Ramaswamy would collaborate with the White House and the Office of Management & Budget to address “massive waste and fraud” in the $6.5tn (£5.1tn) of annual government spending.
He has likened the new initiative to the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War Two programme that developed the first nuclear weapons.
The president-elect said Musk and Ramaswamy would complete their work by 4 July 2026, marking American Independence Day.
The organisation’s name is a nod to Musk’s preferred cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, which itself was playfully named in 2013 after an internet meme. Dogecoin’s value has surged over the past week.
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