The man claims to have done what he said he would do
Going Beyond the Wall: Trump vs. Musk on Silicon Valley Campaign Roadmap and Politics, and a Countdown with Ramaswamy
Until he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in January to endorse Trump, Ramaswamy vowed to reduce the role of the federal government. His policies included cutting the Fed workforce by at least 90% and deporting American-born children of immigrants.
He cut spending in his businesses. After buying X, he conducted mass layoffs, vastly reducing the size of the company from 8,000 to 1,500 people.
In another post including a video of National Public Radio CEO Katherine Maher from a TED Talk she gave in 2021, three years before she took over the organization, Musk asks, “Should your tax dollars really be paying for an organization run by people who think the truth is a ‘distraction’?” Musk wrote that the Department of Education was not great value for money. (Project 2025, a roadmap created by the Heritage Foundation for a second Trump administration, calls for eliminating the Department of Education). In all, Musk has advocated for $2 trillion in spending cuts—more than the federal government’s total spending in fiscal year 2023 on all discretionary outlays including defense, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Musk became one of Trump’s most ardent advocates in Silicon Valley during the campaign. He was the primary funder of the political action committee that spent $200 million on the Trump campaign. But he also hit the campaign trail drumming up support in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania; made an appearance with Trump at a rally; stumped for Trump on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast; hosted a live on X, which he owns; and used his platform and the power of his own celebrity to push the campaign’s talking points and boost propaganda claiming Democrats would allow unauthorized immigrants to vote.
It marks another deviation from political tradition in assembling a new administration. It’s also a continuation of Trump’s relationships with Musk and Ramaswamy, businessmen who are both relatively new to politics but have become close allies of the incoming president.
While most department heads have to be confirmed by the Senate, it’s unclear what formalities Musk and Ramaswamy will have to go through for these roles.
“We will not go gently,” Ramaswamy said in a post on X in response to the news while tagging Musk, who commented separately in Trump’s original announcement.
The appointment also brings Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, officially into Trump’s administration after he was reported to have once been under consideration for vice president.
“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” Trump wrote. “I am very happy that the Federal Bureaucracy will soon be changed with an eye on efficiency and a goal of making life better for all Americans.”
Are you excited to see an official government agency? Musk’s frustrations with senator Stefanik are great, but are too dicey to lose her
An official government agency couldn’t be created without an act of congress, even if it were to exist inside the federal government.
In a statement released Tuesday, President Trump referred to the new agency as the “Department of Government Efficiency”, which is a nod to the dog-themed coin that skyrocketed after Musk talked about it.
Musk is starting to speak up on staffing decisions for the next administration and beyond. There was a survey released by Musk on Sunday asking users who they would like to see become the next Senate majority leader. Users appeared to overwhelmingly vote for MAGA favorite Florida senator Rick Scott. When Trump announced that New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik would be his pick for UN Ambassador, Musk took to X to weigh in, saying, “Elise is awesome, but it might be too dicey to lose her from the House, at least for now.” Reporting from the Financial Times revealed that Musk is looking to install his own loyalists and backers into the government, particularly people like Steve Davis, CEO of the Musk-founded Boring Company, and has reportedly asked Trump to appoint SpaceX staff to the Department of Defense.
