The Department of Government Efficiency has opened its official X account with the username DOGE, which in addition to being the acronym of the name of the department, is also a reference to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
What Happened: The newly created department, it said in an X post, is aimed at ensuring “tax dollars will be spent wisely.”
President-elect Donald Trump said earlier this week that the department will be led by billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The department, he said, will be aimed at bringing down government bureaucracy, slashing excess regulations, cutting waste expenditures, and restructuring federal agencies.
Trump also said in his statement that the department will provide advice and guidance from “outside the government,” likely implying that Ramaswamy and Musk’s appointments will not require the approval of the Senate.
Neither will get paid for their role in the department, Musk said on Thursday on X in a reply to Senator Elizabeth Warren.
“Unlike you, neither of us are being paid, so it is very efficient indeed. DOGE will do great things for the American people. Let history be the judge,” Musk wrote.
The work of the DOGE department, Trump said earlier this week, is scheduled to conclude no later than July 4, 2026.
Why It Matters: Musk said as early as August that he discussed the idea of the department with Trump. The CEO then said that the department will be aimed at deregulation, among other things.
"That’s (accumulation of regulations) like the hardening of the arteries. Or a way to think of it is being tied down by a million little strings like Gulliver. You can’t move. And it’s not like any one of those strings is the issue, it’s that you’ve got a million of them," Musk then said while adding that excess regulation is preventing key development projects such as building high-speed rail in the country.
Musk donated millions to Trump’s presidential campaign and actively campaigned for him both online and offline in the swing state of Pennsylvania, cementing him as a key player in Trump’s campaign and circle.
Bill Clinton-era Secretary of Labor Robert Reich on Wednesday slammed the idea of the Department of Government Efficiency saying it is not about efficiency but “simply a quid-pro-quo riddled with conflicts of interest."
"Anything and everything will always be for sale under Trump. Musk is just the latest person to take advantage of this,” Reich wrote in a post on X.
Read Next:
Photos courtesy: Shutterstock and Gage Skidmore on Flickr
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
