Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been rewarded for supporting Donald Trump during the election by being given a prominent job.
The X, Tesla and SpaceX owner will lead a body dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency , external– or Doge for short, which is also the name of a cryptocurrency promoted by Musk.
We still don’t know much about how this new organisation will function in practice as it appears it will operate independently of normal government department structures.
In a statement, Trump said it will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government”, in partnership with both the White House and the Office of Management and Budget.
Along with Vivek Ramaswamy, another vocal Trump supporter, Musk has been told to “pave the way” for a dramatic reduction in red tape and spending, with a deadline of 4 July 2026.
The move could result in substantial federal job cuts, something Musk has called for previously. He has also said he thinks $2 trillion could be saved from the government’s budget.
Last night, Musk said on X he will create an online “leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending” of US tax dollars.
What exactly will Musk and Ramaswamy be doing?
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been handed the authority to conduct sweeping changes to government spending, according to Donald Trump.
“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,” his statement reads.
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” he says, referring to the American programme to develop the first atomic bomb.
It is unclear exactly what form this new department will take but it appears it will be outside formal government structures.
The statement goes on: “The Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” he adds, with a goal to “create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before”.
Trump says they have a deadline of concluding their work by US Independence Day on 4 July, 2026.
In Trump’s statement confirming he is setting up a new agency tasked with cutting government spending and regulation, Musk is quoted as saying: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Musk has responded to a post sharing the statement on X – the social media platform he owns – on an account managed on behalf of Tommy Robinson, a far-right UK activist who is currently imprisoned.
“People have no idea how much this will move the needle,” he writes.
Ramaswamy also reacted on X, writing: “We will not go gently.”
Five key takeaways from the Doge announcement
The statement announcing the appointments of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy was published by Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign press secretary, on X.
Here’s a summary of the key lines:
- The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”
- Trump says it will be “The Manhattan Project” of our time – the US government program during World War II which developed the atomic bomb
- The advisory board will “provide guidance from outside of government”
- It will “drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 trillion of government spending”
- Trump says Musk and Ramaswamy’s work “will conclude no later” than 4 July 2026
Trump names Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defence secretary pick
US President-elect Donald Trump has named Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, author and military veteran, as his pick for defence secretary.
Hegseth, 44, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, will be responsible for the world’s most powerful military in his first political role.
Announcing his choice on Tuesday, Trump described him as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First”.
The news came on the same day Trump announced another political newcomer, billionaire Elon Musk, would take a government cost-cutting role.
Trump’s administration is taking shape after his win in last week’s presidential election. Hegseth was one of a flurry of security appointments that also included Trump’s pick of John Ratcliffe to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
If confirmed for his role by the US Senate, Hegseth will arrive at the Pentagon with decisions to make on issues such as military assistance for Israel during its campaign in Gaza, and on support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Trump wants the US to disentangle itself from foreign conflicts generally. During the election campaign, he criticised the Biden administration’s expenditure to support Kyiv.
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Also on Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he wanted South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to play a significant role as homeland security secretary. Another military veteran, Michael Waltz, was chosen by Trump as national security adviser – meaning he will advise the president on foreign threats.
Senator Marco Rubio – who shares Waltz’s hawkish views on China – is expected to be Trump’s future secretary of state, sources have told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. But the pick is not yet confirmed.
Republicans have won back control of the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, and are inching towards a majority in the House, the lower chamber, as vote-counting continues.
Some of the government appointments – including Hegseth’s – require a vote of approval by senators, although Trump, also a Republican, has demanded that the next leader of the US Senate let him bypass this process. He can give out other jobs directly.
Senate Republicans are due to vote on a new leader on Wednesday – the day that Trump is also expected to visit the outgoing president, Joe Biden, at the White House as part of the traditional transfer of power.
Who is Pete Hegseth?
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ivy League graduate Hegseth has in recent years worked as a conservative commentator. He lives with his wife and seven children in Tennessee.
He has hosted programmes on Fox News, using his platform to draw attention to military and veterans’ issues. He had his last day at Fox on Tuesday.
He is reported by US media to have successfully lobbied Trump during his first presidency to pardon servicemen accused of war crimes.
In his statement announcing Hegseth as his pick for defence secretary on Tuesday, Trump highlighted the former soldier’s education at Princeton and Harvard universities, and his military experience in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down,” Trump wrote in a post.
The president-elect also drew attention to Hegseth’s work as a published author. He said the book The War on Warrior “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our warriors, and how we must return our military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence”.
What has he previously said about the military?
Hegseth has been an outspoken opponent of what he has referred to as “woke” policies within the US military and its leadership.
One of his tasks as defence secretary could be to act on Trump’s campaign promises to get rid of US generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies in the force.
Before his selection by Trump, Hegseth was asked on a podcast about what changes he would make in the military. He referred to “first of all” firing the US’ top military officer, Gen Charles “CQ” Brown Jr, saying people involved in diversity, equality or inclusion policies had “got to go”.
“Either you’re in for war fighting and that’s it, that’s the only litmus test we care about,” Hegseth told the Shawn Ryan Show, in an episode released last week.
Gen Brown is a former fighter pilot with command experience in the Pacific and Middle East, and was appointed into the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff role by President Joe Biden last year.
On the same podcast, Hegseth also said “whatever” combat standards were in 1995, “let’s just make those the standards”.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
