Tesla CEO Elon Musk will officially join the Trump administration as co-head of the new US Department of Labor – the second federal department tasked with making government spending more efficient.
You can't get more ironic than that.
Throughout this election, Musk, who is already the CEO of Tesla, and SpaceX, and the defacto head of X, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company, has been floating the idea of adding to his work by joining the Trump administration. to lead a new department aimed at making the federal government more efficient.
He has been referring to it as the “Department of Good Government”, meaning 'DOGE', a meme that Musk seems to enjoy.
Now, Trump seems to want to continue this idea.
He announced the new department with Musk as head, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, in a statement today:
I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in partnership with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Operations (“DOGE”). Together, these two amazing Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle the Business Bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and reorganize Federal Agencies – Essential to the “Save America” Movement. “This will bring a shock to the system, and anyone involved in the government, which is many people!” said Mr. Musk.
Ironically, there is now a government department with a mission to cut government waste and ensure efficiency: the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The main objectives of the GAO are:
- audit agency activities to determine whether government funds are being used properly and efficiently;
- to investigate allegations of illegal and improper activities;
- reporting on how government programs and policies are meeting their objectives;
- conducting policy analysis and presenting options for congressional consideration;
- issuing legal decisions and opinions;
- advising Congress and the heads of executive agencies on ways to make government work more effectively and efficiently
It sounds similar to what Musk described when he talked about his DOGE, but Trump hasn't gone into much detail other than to say it will “cut waste.”
He also has a confusing message as he compares this program, which is supposed to reduce government spending, to the “Manhattan Project”, a large and expensive government project.
Trump said the DOGE will help the government “implement major structural changes”:
It will be, possibly, the “Manhattan Project” of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed of “DOGE” goals for a very long time. To drive this kind of major change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside the government, and will work with the White House and the Office of Management & Budget to continue major structural changes, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government. I have never seen him before.
The statement also noted that the DOGE will be effective until July 4, 2026.
Musk previously said he would cut at least $2 billion of the $6.5 billion US dollar.
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