Trump Picks Musk, Ramaswamy to Lead Dept. of Govt. Efficiency

Facts

• Pres.-elect Donald Trump has announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the former US president's second administration.^[1][2]
• In a statement, Trump said that DOGE will "dismantle Government Bureaucracy" and "provide advice and guidance from outside of Government," adding Musk's and Ramaswamy's work will end "no later" than July 4, 2026.^[3]
• Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) and Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla, donated millions of dollars to the Trump campaign, while Ramaswamy, a biotech investor, ran for the Republican presidential candidacy before dropping out and endorsing Trump in January.^[4][5]
• This comes after Musk at an October Trump rally in New York told the crowd he thinks he could cut "at least" $2T from current federal spending.^[6]
• Additionally, Trump selected Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense, describing the Fox News host and military veteran as "tough, smart and a true believer in America First."^[7][8]
• He also appointed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser.^[9]

Sources: ^[1]CNN, ^[2]FOX News, ^[3]X, ^[4]BBC News, ^[5]Newsweek, ^[6]The Hill, ^[7]New York Post, ^[8]NBC and ^[9]Forbes.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by National Review and The Western Journal. Musk, Ramaswamy, and Hegseth's jobs are clear — to break the establishment status quo, disrupt the political norms that have damaged America, and deliver a federal government that truly acts on behalf of the people. For too long, the swamp of bureaucratic red tape and an entrenched belief in forever wars have benefited the interests of the few over the many. With these appointments, Trump will be a breath of fresh air and finally jolt the country back in the right direction.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast and NBC. Underneath the irony of Trump's decision to place two individuals in charge of DOGE lies deep concern over the appointments made by the pres.-elect. While Musk has been demoted to a job that won't exist in 18 months, placing government contractors in charge of federal spending oversight is disastrous. Alongside the appointment of a Fox host lacking any profound political experience as defense secretary, the writing on the wall is that cracks will soon appear in the Trump administration — even before Inauguration Day.