Elon Musk has officially been appointed as co-leader of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a position that has sparked both excitement and debate. President-elect Donald Trump made the announcement on Tuesday evening, revealing that Musk will work alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to tackle government spending.
The goal of the department, which is tasked with curbing wasteful spending, aligns with Musk’s well-known focus on efficiency and transparency. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk outlined his vision for DOGE, promising to publish all department activities online.
He also proposed a “leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars” as a way to ensure public accountability. Musk’s post quickly went viral, attracting more than 26 million views, 18,000 comments, and 50,000 retweets, with business leaders and everyday citizens chiming in to share their thoughts and suggestions.
Ryan Petersen, CEO of the supply chain management company Flexport, took to X to highlight an example of government inefficiency that caught his attention. “The US Department of Agriculture runs a foreign language school. I took a Chinese class there.
Why does the department of agriculture need to teach Chinese?” Petersen wrote. He pointed out that community colleges offer such language classes and questioned why taxpayer money should fund language education through a government agency like the USDA, which traditionally focuses on agricultural policies.
The announcement also received enthusiastic support from several high-profile figures in the business world. Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager and vocal Trump supporter, expressed his excitement by sharing Musk’s post about the leaderboard, commenting, “It’s becoming exciting again to be an American.”
Similarly, venture capital partner Shaun Maguire from Sequoia Capital retweeted the announcement, calling Musk’s new role “one of the greatest things I’ve ever read.”
While many on the right applauded the appointment, responses from the left were more skeptical. Aaron Levie, the CEO of cloud computing company Box, who has supported Vice President Kamala Harris, acknowledged the potential for government reform, saying on X, “There’s a significant opportunity to make the government more capable of delivering for Americans, and ironically it will actually cost less, not more.”
However, some Democratic figures, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, were critical of the move. Warren sarcastically commented, “The Office of Government Efficiency is off to a great start with split leadership: two people to do the work of one person. Yeah, this seems REALLY efficient.”
As the Department of Government Efficiency gets off the ground, it remains to be seen just how much influence Musk will have in reshaping the federal budget and cutting costs.
The federal government spent a staggering $6.75 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year, with the largest portions directed toward health insurance programs, Social Security, and defense.
Musk’s appointment to head this department could signal a shift in how the government approaches budget management, but questions remain about how much power he will wield and whether he can truly enact sweeping change.
Both Trump’s transition team and Musk have yet to respond to requests for comment, leaving many wondering about the specifics of Musk’s role and his ability to reshape government spending to reflect his business-minded approach.
Regardless of political affiliation, it’s clear that Musk’s appointment to DOGE is one of the most talked-about developments in the lead-up to the new administration.