Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead Department of Government Efficiency: All about DOGE, Trump's push to reshape US governance

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy.

In a significant move to reform the Government, US President-elect Donald Trump has announced the appointment of Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday along with Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In an official statement, Trump said, “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 Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE is not a formal government agency. According to Donald Trump, the newly formed DOGE will work closely with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform. It aims to create an entrepreneurial approach to governance. Additionally, the acronym ‘DOGE’ is a nod to Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

Republican politicians have long envisioned such reforms, and DOGE aims to achieve these goals with advice from outside the government. It will work closely with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to implement large-scale structural reforms and bring an entrepreneurial spirit to government operations.

Dogecoin— the so-called 'meme coin'— extended its rally after US President-elect Donal Trump confirmed the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Dogecoin briefly jumped after Donald Trump in a statement tasked the team to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

In support of all crypto tokens, Trump has pledged to create a friendly regulatory framework for crypto, set up a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and make the US the global hub for the industry. Trump's stance is a sharp break from a crackdown on the divisive industry by the Securities & Exchange Commission under President Joe Biden’s administration.

In August Musk and Tesla won the dismissal of a federal lawsuit accusing them of defrauding investors by hyping dogecoin and conducting insider trading, causing billions of dollars of losses.