Trump’s new ‘efficiency’ department could involve 1.65m government lay-offs

On the campaign trail, pharmaceutical entrepreneur-turned-Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy touted a plan to cut the US federal workforce by 75 per cent.

Now that he’s been named as co-leader with tech billionaire Elon Musk of what President-elect Donald Trump has called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Ramaswamy “might actually have the chance to prove his ideas could work”, The New York Times reported.

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump.Credit: Various

“Slapping the bureaucracy on the wrist won’t solve the problem, the only right answer is a massive downsizing,” Ramaswamy posted on X on November 13.

Trump named Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Ramaswamy to lead the panel on Tuesday, with a mission to propose dramatic cuts to the federal workforce, regulations and spending. The downsizing may require cutting 1.65 million federal jobs, the Times reported.

The radical DOGE plan also would involve weekly livestreams.

Musk’s government efficiency panel wants “high IQ” employees, according to posts on X about Trump’s initiative to streamline the US bureaucracy.

Tesla founder Elon Musk is now a US government adviser.Credit: Getty Images

Given the ambitious claims made by Musk and Trump about the panel’s ability to transform the US government, the group has received widespread publicity and interest in how it will operate.

Ramaswamy said on X on Friday that the weekly livestreams will begin soon. Before last week’s presidential election, Ramaswamy and Musk spoke about government and American culture in live broadcasts on X, which is owned by Musk.

The two on Thursday solicited resumes from “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting”. The appeal was posted on X by a new account for the efficiency panel.

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks before Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York in October.Credit: AP

In a Thursday evening speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said the body will issue individual reports on its work and “a big one” at the end, which is slated for July 4, 2026.

Ramaswamy has often spoken about the parts of the US government where he sees a need for extensive change.

For example, he said on X on Friday there is too much bureaucracy leading to less innovation and higher costs at the Food and Drug Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and “countless other 3-letter agencies”.

It was not clear whether the panel would be an official government body or an outside advisory group. Federal commissions are required to hold public hearings.

Congress has power over the federal budget under the Constitution, so any major spending cuts would need its approval.

The details over DOGE come as cracks in the Republican response to Trump’s cabinet picks become visible.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday he would “strongly request” that the House ethics committee not release the results of its investigation into ex-Representative Matt Gaetz, rebuffing senators who are demanding access now because Gaetz is Trump’s nominee for attorney-general.

Johnson’s intervention is highly unusual, as the ethics panel has traditionally operated independently. His move seems certain to add to the growing furore on Capitol Hill over Gaetz’s nomination to become the nation’s top law-enforcement officer.

“I’m going to strongly request that the ethics committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House,” Johnson told reporters at the US Capitol. “And I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.”

Ethics reports have previously been made public after a member’s resignation, though it is extremely rare.

Johnson’s comments were a reversal from Wednesday, when he suggested a hands-off approach to the Gaetz report.

The “Speaker of the House is not involved in that and can’t be involved in that”, he previously said of the ethics committee.

Reuters, AP with Chris Zappone

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