U.S President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Elon Musk to a position focused at improving government efficiency, giving the world’s richest man even more clout after donating millions of dollars to help Trump win the election.
Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump has hinted will operate outside of government.
In a statement, Trump stated that Musk and Ramaswamy will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.
Trump stated that the new department will fulfill long-held Republican dreams and “provide advice and guidance from outside of government.
He added that the new agency will collaborate with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach” to government that had never been seen before.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world, already stood to benefit from Trump’s victory, with the billionaire entrepreneur expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favorable government treatment.
Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump’s presidential campaign and made public appearances with him.
Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump and then threw his support behind the former president after dropping out.
In his 2021 bestseller “Woke, Inc.,” Ramaswamy decried decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns.
Ramaswamy said the appointment means he is withdrawing from consideration for the pending US Senate appointment in Ohio, where governor Mike DeWine will appoint a replacement for JD Vance, who will become Trump’s vice president when they are inaugurated on Jan. 20.
