Donald Trump confirms job for Elon Musk in his cabinet – ‘Manhattan Project of our time’
Elon Musk has officially been picked by Donald Trump to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), described by the president-elect as the “Manhattan Project of our time”.
Alongside politician Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk will head up the new office which is designed to “dismantle” government bureaucracy and “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful spending, and restructure Federal Agencies”.
The pair will give external advice to the White House on how to “drive large scale structural reform,” Trump announced on Tuesday evening.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people”, Musk said in a statement.
The project is set to be completed by July 4, 2026, and the president-elect said that it is designed to “drive out the massive waste and fraud”.
“A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump said in the statement.
“I am confident they will succeed!”
The department has been likened to the Manhattan Project – which developed the world’s first atomic bombs.
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After the announcement, Musk posted on his social media platform, X: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy shared the announcement online, saying “we will not go gently”.
Musk and Ramaswamy have become some of Trump’s top allies, with the SpaceX founder pumping tens of millions of dollars into the campaign.
The X owner was with Trump and his family members at their election night party at Mar-a-Lago, and since Trump’s win last week, he has reportedly spent every day with the upcoming President.
Ramaswamy, who ran as a republican candidate before dropping out, stayed complimentary of the former President throughout his own campaign, allowing him to gain a place in Trump’s new White House.
Last year, he said that he would fire more than 75 per cent of the federal work force and close down several major agencies, including the Department of Education, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Announcing the project, Trump said: “Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of “DOGE” for a very long time.
“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.”