Billionaire Musk and associate Ramaswamy are quickly seeking candidates and consulting experts to plan an ambitious reduction of the US government apparatus.
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as leaders of the Government Efficiency Office (DOGE), with ambitions to reform the federal government apparatus that he deems too cumbersome. The deadline for the two billionaires to complete this mission is July 4, 2026, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Musk and Ramaswamy have spent the past week in Washington and Mar-a-Lago, seeking candidates and consulting experts to build the regulations and operational structure for DOGE. Sources close to them indicate they are trying to persuade Russell Vought, whom Trump selected as the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget and who has close ties to Ramaswamy, to join DOGE.
Associates in Musk's business empire, such as investor Antonio Gracias and Boring Company president Steve Davis, are also involved in planning for DOGE.
Additionally, this group includes friends and Silicon Valley leaders such as Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, investor Marc Andreessen, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Musk, Ramaswamy, and the team in Silicon Valley are working to address technical challenges to gather data on federal officials, serving the plan to streamline personnel. Meanwhile, Andreessen will take on a connecting role to recruit talent to join the government apparatus.
In an article published in the WSJ last week, Musk and Ramaswamy outlined their vision for using executive power and the legal system to promote efforts to cut regulations, budgets, and federal personnel.
"President-elect Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy are leading the change in how budget spending is done, including eliminating lobbyists and military contractors to empower ordinary Americans. I look forward to standing beside them to carry out this effort," said Republican Congressman Chip Roy, who has long supported cutting government spending.
The two entrepreneurs stated they plan to consult with Trump to eliminate "thousands" of government regulations, streamline the federal workforce, and cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. This is a significant reduction, as total US government spending in 2023 is nearly $7 trillion.
DOGE plans to reduce the workforce by requiring the end of remote work, which many agencies are currently implementing. Some individuals who previously helped Musk cut costs and personnel in his business empire, such as Gracias and Davis, are expected to continue supporting the billionaire at DOGE.
Gracias, a former member of Tesla's board, has supported Musk in the restructuring of social media platform X after acquiring the company at the end of 2022. Davis is also overseeing the efforts to cut spending at X. In Musk's orbit, Davis is known for being creative and having ambitious goals.
In recent weeks, Musk's friends have introduced him to many potential staff and advisors for DOGE. Some long-time government experts say they hope the two DOGE leaders will listen to more opinions from officials who promote efforts to change the operation of the US government, rather than dismissing them.
"Only long-time officials truly understand what works effectively and what needs to be eliminated. However, DOGE leaders need to listen to them while doing so," said Jennifer Pahlka, a senior researcher at the Niskanen Center.
Last week, congressional Republicans supported Musk and Ramaswamy by selecting Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as the leader of the government efficiency oversight subcommittee of DOGE in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Stephanie Bice introduced a bill to reduce overlapping grants to monitor and eliminate duplicate federal grant applications.
DOGE leaders have not consulted with lawmakers responsible for budget issues in Congress. However, Congressman Tom Cole, who opposes the budget deficit, said he looks forward to discussing the plan to streamline the US government with the two billionaires.
Senators also believe that the two DOGE leaders will consult with them. "I think we can support each other. We can help them consider some issues, while they will help us in other areas," said Senator Shelley Moore Capito.
However, DOGE is not a department within the government, and every move they make risks facing numerous legal and practical obstacles. Richard J. Pierce, a professor of administrative law at George Washington University, stated that the WSJ commentary shows that both Musk and Ramaswamy do not fully understand federal law, which requires a strict process to repeal existing regulations.
Trump wants DOGE to complete the streamlining program before July 4, 2026, but the process of eliminating federal regulations often takes up to 2-3 years, according to Professor Pierce. The two DOGE leaders believe Trump could sign an executive order to halt the enforcement of regulations, but any such order could be overturned by the courts.
Musk and Ramaswamy cited several recent Supreme Court rulings on federal regulations, claiming they could pave the way for their efforts. However, Professor Pierce noted that the Supreme Court is unlikely to fully support the ambitions that DOGE is pursuing.
Some experts believe that DOGE's ambition to streamline could have negative impacts and cause chaos if implemented hastily on a large scale without considering potential obstacles.
"The ambition to accelerate the process and cut everything shows that the DOGE leaders will do something extensively, but they will face bureaucratic processes or lengthy lawsuits. Creating years of legal limbo in various fields will not be an effective way to promote business investment," said Tobin Marcus, head of US policy and politics at Wolfe Research in New York.
Nevertheless, DOGE's plan to streamline may become clearer in the coming days, and many supporters are optimistic about the plan.
"It would be a mistake to insist that DOGE will fail, now that both Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are ready to begin," said James Fishback, co-founder of investment firm Azoria Partners and long-time friend of Ramaswamy.