President-elect Donald Trump has announced that billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate and ally of Trump, will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
“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,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Department of Government Efficiency will not be a federal agency in the U.S. government but will provide advice and guidance “outside of government” and partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to “drive structural government reform,” Trump said.
The president-elect did not detail how this new department would be funded.
“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,” Trump added.
Trump said the new department would target the “massive waste and fraud” he says exists within the $6.5 trillion of government spending.
US entrepreneur and former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy (L) speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024, and SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he speaks during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, on June 16, 2023.. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS and Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDSALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew Caballero-reynoldsalain J/AFP via Getty Images
During the 2024 election cycle, Trump was vocal about including Musk in his administration if elected.
While speaking to the Economic Club of New York in September, Trump announced Musk would lead a task force to conduct a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government” and make “recommendations for drastic reforms.”
Following Trump’s comments, Musk took to X, saying, “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.”
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who suspended his presidential bid in January, has been a vocal advocate of Trump’s campaign.
Earlier this month, Ramaswamy said the president-elect would bring the country together and urged Democrats who did not vote for him to “give him a chance.”
“What you’re hearing from Donald Trump is he is going to be a president for all Americans,” Ramaswamy said. “I think Donald Trump is focused on what makes people’s lives better. And actually, my message to Democrats out there, even those who didn’t vote for Donald Trump, is to give him a chance to actually make your life better,” he added.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.