As President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his plans to fill out his cabinet and make significant cuts and changes to government agencies, Trump has announced the creation of a new agency intended to cut government waste. And two of Trump’s most prominent supporters have been tapped to lead this new effort, which critics have looked at skeptically.
Trump to create new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’
Trump announced in a statement Tuesday that he was creating a Department of Government Efficiency to tackle waste, with billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist-turned Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy leading the new organization. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy,” Trump said in his statement. The announcement said that the agency will operate “outside of government” in order to identify and eliminate “massive waste and fraud” in government spending. Additional details, such as how much the endeavor will cost and where the money would come from, were not specified in the announcement.
Trump rewards Musk, Ramaswamy for support
The announcement demonstrates Trump rewarding two of his biggest 2024 campaign supporters. Musk, the head of companies including Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) and the world’s richest person, spent over $100 million on pro-Trump campaigning and promoted the Republican through his social media platform X. He is said to be heavily involved in Trump’s decision-making process during the presidential transition, even joining Trump on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is a former biotech entrepreneur who entered politics with an anti-“woke” agenda. He ran against Trump for the Republican nomination but dropped his bid in January and endorsed Trump, often advocating for Trump on cable news and in other venues.
Critics see the plan as unworkable, unserious
While the details of the new agency remain to be seen, critics have already expressed deep skepticism about the plan to identify and cut waste. Referencing a pledge made by Musk on the campaign trail to cut $2 trillion in government spending, financial analyst Gordon Johnson noted on X that the amount is greater than the total amount of discretionary spending in the federal budget, including military spending.
One other thing. @elonmusk has said he'll cut $2tn from U.S. spending when there's only $1.7tn in total to cut (i.e., discretionary), $805bn of which is defense spending. Once again, @elonmusk seems to be making promises that are mathematically impossible (the idea that Trump's… https://t.co/Zd298e6YMW pic.twitter.com/Yilo70EBCw
— Gordon Johnson (@GordonJohnson19) November 13, 2024
Even the name of the proposed agency is a red flag for many. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, appears to be a reference to an internet meme that became the name for a cryptocurrency promoted by Musk. Former Republican Congessman Adam Kinzinger, a staunch critic of Trump, was one of many people pointing out the connection and accusing Musk of treating the government as a joke.
They are calling it the Dept of
Government efficiency because it’s “DOGE.” The crypto, these people just think this whole govt this is “LOL”— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) November 13, 2024
Despite Musk’s apparent attempt to troll with the name DOGE, the new agency will soon be a real thing. Musk and Ramaswamy have pledged to crowdsource ideas and publicly post their agency’s actions online. If they live up to these promises, we will see if their campaign to fight waste will be a success or a joke and whether or not Trump’s faith in these two supporters is merited or not.
