Donald Trump has rewarded two of his most prominent supporters with jobs, tapping Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new US Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump is rolling out a steady stream of appointees and nominees for his upcoming administration, working at a faster pace and without as much drama as his first transition following his 2016 victory.
Musk and Ramaswamy "will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies", Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new department "will provide advice and guidance from outside of government", signalling the entity would operate outside the confines of government.
However, it would work 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.
Trump said their work would conclude by July 4, 2026, making it a "gift" to the country on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world, already stood to benefit from Trump's victory, with the billionaire entrepreneur expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favourable government treatment.
Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump's presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump had said he would offer Musk a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.
He has many links to Washington and his lineup of companies includes electric car company Tesla, social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX.
"This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!" Musk said, according to Trump's statement, which called the new government initiative "potentially 'The Manhattan Project' of our time," referring to the US plan to build the atomic bomb that helped end World War Two.
Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump and then threw his support behind the former president after dropping out.
"We will not go gently, @elonmusk," Ramaswamy said on X.
Musk reposted the announcement from Trump on his X account and added comments such as that, "The merch will be (fire)," using three fire emojis, and, "People have no idea how much this will move the needle!"
"Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!"
The acronym of the new department - DOGE - coincides with the name of the cryptocurrency dogecoin that Musk promotes.
Trump has picked as his secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called "woke" policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.
Hegseth, if confirmed by the US Senate, could make good on Trump's campaign promises to rid the military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown, a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Pacific and the Middle East, who Hegseth accused of "pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians".
Earlier Trump said he was nominating former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
A former Republican congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final year and a half of Trump’s first term, leading the US government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump also said he would nominate former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and longtime friend Steven Witkoff to be a special envoy to the Middle East.
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Witkoff is a Florida real estate investor who is serving as a chair of Trump’s inaugural committee. He also spent time in the world of New York real estate, where Trump first made his mark as a public figure.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is expected to be named secretary of state and Trump has picked Republican representative and former Army Green Beret Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser.
Trump also named Bill McGinley, his Cabinet Secretary in his first administration, as his White House counsel.
with AP
