Washington: Elon Musk has been richly rewarded for strongly backing Donald Trump in his election campaign.
Trump, who beat Kamala Harris comfortably in the race to be the US President earlier this month, named billionaire Musk and businessman-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency in the new government which will succeed the Joe Biden administration.
Trump, who is in the process of finalising Cabinet positions, will take oath as the 47th American President on January 20, 2025. It will be his second term in the White House, following his stint from 2017-2021.
Announcing his choice for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump tasked Indian-American Ramaswamy and Musk with “slashing excess regulations” and “cutting wasteful expenditures.”
“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 — essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” said Trump’s statement.
Describing the new department as ‘The Manhattan Project of our time’, Trump said Republicans had been dreaming about the implementation of DOGE for a very long time.
“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. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual USD 6.5 trillion of government spending,” said the President-elect.
Musk’s reaction was typically flamboyant and scare-evoking.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!” the official statement quoted Musk as saying.
Ramaswamy, the son of Brahmins from Kerala who immigrate from Palakkad, took to social media platform X after Trump’s announcement.
“And yes, this means I’m withdrawing myself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio. Whoever Governor DeWine appoints to JD’s seat has some big shoes to fill. I will help them however I can,” he stated.