November 15, 2024

DEPT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY

NBC News - President-elect Donald Trump's announcement of an advisory commission chaired by billionaire Elon Musk and onetime presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy turned heads earlier this week. The two were tapped to lead the "Department of Government Efficiency" (or "DOGE," a play on a cryptocurrency Musk has promoted). But DOGE isn’t a “department” like the Department of Education or the Department of Homeland Security. And the effort won’t be inside the government. Trump said DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” and Musk and Ramaswamy’s work will be completed by July 4, 2026. 

Both Musk and Ramaswamy have talked up their big plans. Musk wants to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, though he has offered few specifics about what he would look to cut. Yesterday, he began the search for applicants for unpaid staff jobs, particularly "super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week," he said on X.

However, the real authority to make cuts will rest with Cabinet secretaries and the agency heads Trump is choosing, said Max Stier, the CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group dedicated to making government work more effectively. "You can say 'Do this' or 'Do that' from the outside, but to get it done, you need people who really know how to make things happen and to execute effectively."  MORE

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