Trump taps Musk, Ramaswamy to lead government efficiency initiative

President-elect Donald Trump has announced the formation of a new advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at overhauling federal operations to reduce waste and increase efficiency.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, will lead the group. Trump said the initiative would focus on dismantling government bureaucracy, slashing excessive regulations, and cutting wasteful spending across federal agencies.

In a statement Tuesday, Trump described DOGE as potentially “the Manhattan Project of our time,” referring to the ambitious scale of the effort. The initiative, which aligns with long-standing Republican goals of government reform, will collaborate with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to address inefficiencies within the federal government.

“DOGE will bring an entrepreneurial approach to government like we’ve never seen before,” Trump said. “The work will drive large-scale structural reform across the entire federal system.”

The precise structure and role of DOGE remain unclear. It is uncertain whether the group will function as an official arm of the administration or as an independent advisory body.

Musk, commenting on the initiative, said that DOGE “will send shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!”

Trump emphasized that DOGE’s mission would address “massive waste and fraud” within the annual $6.5 trillion federal budget. The group is expected to complete its work by July 4, 2026, coinciding with the United States’ 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.