Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy To Run For Ohio Governor, Replacing DeWine: What Happens To Trump's DOGE Program?

Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chair of President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with Elon Musk, says he plans to run for governor of Ohio, reported the Washington Post on Friday, citing two people familiar with his plans.

"Vivek's base plan remains [the] same: to get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly," said an Ohioan familiar with Ramaswamy's plan who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity.

Another source confirmed that the tech billionaire, a native of Ohio, was planning a run to replace Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who has served two terms and cannot run again. "The statement is drafted. It is ready," the person said, citing Ramaswamy himself. Ramaswamy had planned to announce his selection after DeWine announced his pick to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the Senate, the person said.

DeWine did just that on Friday when he had appointed his Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, to fill Vance’s vacated Senate seat. DeWine also confirmed to the Ohio media at a press conference in Columbus that he and Husted had visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida just before Christmas.

What Happens To DOGE?

Trump, who created the unofficial agency to cut unnecessary government spending, has said DOGE's work must be completed by "no later than July 4, 2026," which would be prior to Ohio's gubernatorial election in November 2026.

Ramaswamy and Musk’s goal is to cut $500 billion in annual spending, according to their Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the 2024 primary for a short time, founded the biotech company Roivant Sciences in 2014, where he served as CEO until he stepped down in 2021, noted an Ohio NBC news outlet.

In November 2024, before he dropped out of the presidential primary, Forbes ranked Ramaswamy as "the second-wealthiest person competing in the Republican presidential primary," only behind Trump. The outlet estimated Ramaswamy’s his net worth at around $1 billion.

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