President-elect Donald Trump continued with a busy day of appointments when he formally announced the role Elon Musk will be fulfilling in his second administration.
“I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’),” the president-elect wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening. “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.”
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in response to the appointment.
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time,” Trump continued.
“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before. I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans.”
The president-elect added that the department will be tasked with cutting down on wasteful government spending and a redundant bureaucracy, adding that their work will be done no later than July 2026. Trump stated that the department will be “the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.”
“I am confident they will succeed!”
Musk and Trump have long discussed the possibility of a Musk-led effort to clean up the federal workforce and eliminate wasteful spending practices.
The topic first came up during the pair’s X Spaces discussion back in the summer, which was held just after the president-elect was nearly assassinated during a Pennsylvania rally. Musk opted to endorse Trump after the shooting and proceeded to campaign for the Republican nominee in key battleground states.
He also founded the America PAC, which encouraged early voting efforts and voter registration.
“And what I’m going to do, one of the first acts, and this is where I need an Elon Musk, I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up Department of Education, move education back to the states where states, like Iowa, where states like Idaho, you know, not every state will do great because states that basically aren’t doing good now,” Trump said during the discussion.
Earlier in the day, Musk stated that America PAC’s efforts will continue unabated in preparation for the 2026 midterm elections.
The Department of Government Efficiency announcement follows another signal that Trump plans to turn Washington D.C. upside down in his second term. Less than an hour before the announcement was made, Trump announced that Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth will head up the Department of Defense.
In an accompanying press release, the president-elect praised Hegseth for his distinguished military service record, which includes tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. “For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s badge,” Trump noted.
He further praised Hegseth for his work to support combat veterans, as well as his active role in condemning political and military leadership for the mishandling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace Through Strength’ policy.”
