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The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency,
dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will
work from outside the government to offer the White House
“advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of
Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform,
and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen
before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.
It's not clear how the organization will operate. It could come
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how
external groups that advise the government must operate and be
accountable to the public.
Federal employees are generally required to disclose their
assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of
interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their
work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal
workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical
limitations.
Musk posted on X: “Department of Government Efficiency. The
merch will be (fire emojis).” Later he added: “Threat to
democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won
the presidential election.
The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal
role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that
would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal
government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could
find more than $2 trillion in savings — nearly a third of total
annual government spending.
Trump had made clear that Musk would likely not hold any kind of
full-time position, given his other commitments.
“I don’t think I can get him full-time because he’s a little bit
busy sending rockets up and all the things he does,” Trump said
at a rally in Michigan in September. “He said the waste in this
country is crazy. And we’re going to get Elon Musk to be our
cost cutter.”
Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his
support behind Trump.
Trump said in his statement the two will “pave the way for my
Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess
regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal
Agencies.”
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Colvin reported from New York.
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