J
Joshua Fagbemi
Guest
The United States President-elect, Donald Trump has appointed Elon Musk as a co-leader of the Department for Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). According to Trump, the role aims to create a more efficient government, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal agencies. The role is set to add more influence to the world’s richest man who donated funds to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Together with Musk, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the new department. Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical company, ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump. He threw his support for Trump after dropping out.
Donald Trump indicated that the entity will operate outside the confines of government. He added that the new department would work with the White House and the Office of Management & Budget.
“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
Donald Trump pointed out that Musk and Ramaswamy’s roles would be informal, without requiring Senate approval. This allows Musk to remain the head of the electric car company, Tesla.
He likened the DOGE efficiency effort to the Manhattan Project, the U.S. undertaking to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two. Donald Trump also stressed that reducing government spending is a major role of DOGE.
“Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud that exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.”
The DOGE project would conclude by July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, U.S. October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo/File Photo
Ramaswamy said the appointment means he is withdrawing from consideration for the pending U.S. Senate appointment in Ohio.
Earlier in October at a rally in Madison Square Garden, Musk highlighted that the US federal budget could be reduced by “at least” $2 trillion.
“Your money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook,” Musk said at the rally. With DOGE, it is set to introduce a discretionary measure that reduces the “wastage of $6.5 trillion annual government spending.”
Elon Musk
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. 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,” Musk said on X while inviting the public to provide tips.
The acronym of the new department – DOGE – also references the name of the cryptocurrency, dogecoin, that Elon Musk promotes. Dogecoin has more than doubled its value since Election Day, tracking a surge in cryptocurrency markets on expectations of a softer regulatory ride under a Trump administration.
Elon Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with a valuation of $304 billion, already stood to benefit from Trump’s victory. Adding a government portfolio to his status could benefit the market value of his companies and favoured businesses such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
“It’s clear that Elon Musk will have a massive role in the Trump White House with his increasing reach clearly across many federal agencies. We believe the major benefits for Musk and Tesla far outweigh any negatives as this continues to be a ‘poker move for the ages’ by Musk betting on Trump,” equity analyst, Daniel Ives said.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Meanwhile, the appointment has been criticized by Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights NGO that challenged several of Trump’s first-term policies.
“Musk not only knows nothing about government efficiency and regulation, but his businesses have also regularly run afoul of the very rules he will be in a position to attack in his new ‘czar’ position,” Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. Gilbert described it as “the ultimate corporate corruption.“
However, shares in Tesla fell on Wall Street ahead of the announcement after being up about 30% since the election.
Also Read: Bitcoin, Dogecoin, others soar high after Donald Trump’s early lead, victory
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a presidential commission requested by Donald Trump in preparation for his second term.
The acronym “DOGE” is apparently a deliberate reference to Dogecoin, a favourite cryptocurrency of Musk. The idea of a DOGE was also been linked to Trump’s campaign promises to cut federal spending and reduce the size of government and fiscal deficit.
Dogecoin (DOGE) has been up nearly 20% since last week, extending 30-day gains to over 65%, making it the best-performing major token. DOGE has recorded a high figure with over $30 million in short liquidations in the past 24 hours. Its open interest – the number of unsettled futures bets – has reached 8.30 billion tokens as of Wednesday compared to 7 billion tokens on Monday.
DOGE has generally risen after a renewed endorsement by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk as part of the Republican campaign. Musk has been proposing a Department of Government Efficiency (abbreviated as D.O.G.E) as an agency that will make government spending and monetary planning more effective.
The DOGE department will seek to make government spending of taxpayers’ money more efficient while streamlining departments that handle spending. Musk suggested the proposed department could be run similarly to a corporate company with incentives for performers and penalties for those who fail to deliver results.
Elon Musk is a long-time Dogecoin supporter and DOGE tends to surge on payments-related developments at any Musk-owned companies, such as X or Tesla.
The post Trump appoints Elon Musk to lead newly created department for govt efficiency first appeared on Technext.
Together with Musk, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the new department. Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical company, ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump. He threw his support for Trump after dropping out.
Donald Trump indicated that the entity will operate outside the confines of government. He added that the new department would work with the White House and the Office of Management & Budget.
“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
Donald Trump pointed out that Musk and Ramaswamy’s roles would be informal, without requiring Senate approval. This allows Musk to remain the head of the electric car company, Tesla.
He likened the DOGE efficiency effort to the Manhattan Project, the U.S. undertaking to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two. Donald Trump also stressed that reducing government spending is a major role of DOGE.
“Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud that exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.”
The DOGE project would conclude by July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, U.S. October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo/File Photo
Ramaswamy said the appointment means he is withdrawing from consideration for the pending U.S. Senate appointment in Ohio.
Musk’s Reaction
Earlier in October at a rally in Madison Square Garden, Musk highlighted that the US federal budget could be reduced by “at least” $2 trillion.
“Your money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook,” Musk said at the rally. With DOGE, it is set to introduce a discretionary measure that reduces the “wastage of $6.5 trillion annual government spending.”
Elon Musk
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. 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,” Musk said on X while inviting the public to provide tips.
The acronym of the new department – DOGE – also references the name of the cryptocurrency, dogecoin, that Elon Musk promotes. Dogecoin has more than doubled its value since Election Day, tracking a surge in cryptocurrency markets on expectations of a softer regulatory ride under a Trump administration.
DOGE: Elon Musk’s Rising Influence
Elon Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with a valuation of $304 billion, already stood to benefit from Trump’s victory. Adding a government portfolio to his status could benefit the market value of his companies and favoured businesses such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
“It’s clear that Elon Musk will have a massive role in the Trump White House with his increasing reach clearly across many federal agencies. We believe the major benefits for Musk and Tesla far outweigh any negatives as this continues to be a ‘poker move for the ages’ by Musk betting on Trump,” equity analyst, Daniel Ives said.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 5, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Meanwhile, the appointment has been criticized by Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights NGO that challenged several of Trump’s first-term policies.
“Musk not only knows nothing about government efficiency and regulation, but his businesses have also regularly run afoul of the very rules he will be in a position to attack in his new ‘czar’ position,” Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. Gilbert described it as “the ultimate corporate corruption.“
However, shares in Tesla fell on Wall Street ahead of the announcement after being up about 30% since the election.
Also Read: Bitcoin, Dogecoin, others soar high after Donald Trump’s early lead, victory
DOGE and Dogecoin – What you should know
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a presidential commission requested by Donald Trump in preparation for his second term.
The acronym “DOGE” is apparently a deliberate reference to Dogecoin, a favourite cryptocurrency of Musk. The idea of a DOGE was also been linked to Trump’s campaign promises to cut federal spending and reduce the size of government and fiscal deficit.
Dogecoin (DOGE) has been up nearly 20% since last week, extending 30-day gains to over 65%, making it the best-performing major token. DOGE has recorded a high figure with over $30 million in short liquidations in the past 24 hours. Its open interest – the number of unsettled futures bets – has reached 8.30 billion tokens as of Wednesday compared to 7 billion tokens on Monday.
DOGE has generally risen after a renewed endorsement by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk as part of the Republican campaign. Musk has been proposing a Department of Government Efficiency (abbreviated as D.O.G.E) as an agency that will make government spending and monetary planning more effective.
The DOGE department will seek to make government spending of taxpayers’ money more efficient while streamlining departments that handle spending. Musk suggested the proposed department could be run similarly to a corporate company with incentives for performers and penalties for those who fail to deliver results.
Elon Musk is a long-time Dogecoin supporter and DOGE tends to surge on payments-related developments at any Musk-owned companies, such as X or Tesla.
The post Trump appoints Elon Musk to lead newly created department for govt efficiency first appeared on Technext.