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Trump White House Declares Vivek Ramaswamy Will Not Join Musk-Supported DOGE Initiative


The White House announced the change on Monday just hours after President Donald Trump assumed office.

Businessman and former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy will not be joining the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by X owner Elon Musk, a spokesperson confirmed.

“Vivek Ramaswamy was instrumental in the formation of DOGE,” stated Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission. “He plans to run for elected office soon, which necessitates that he remains outside of DOGE, according to the structure we unveiled today. We are extremely grateful for his efforts over the past two months and anticipate his continued contributions towards making America great again.”

Trump had appointed both Ramaswamy and Musk to lead DOGE, touted as an advisory group aimed at initiating a cost-reduction strategy within the federal government. Over the weekend, reports surfaced from unnamed sources indicating that Ramaswamy would not participate in the initiative.

During his inaugural address on Monday, Trump declared the creation of DOGE to curb waste in the federal government.

“To restore efficiency and competence to our federal government, my administration will establish the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump articulated in his inaugural remarks.

Shortly after his inauguration, DOGE and the Trump administration faced at least four separate lawsuits from various groups. Some sought to obtain records between Musk, Ramaswamy, and government officials, while others aimed to ensure compliance with federal regulations.

“The operations of DOGE during the transition phase have been conducted in secrecy,” reads a lawsuit filed by the advocacy group Public Citizen. “Media reports suggest that DOGE began its operations discreetly right after President Trump’s inauguration, and that it will soon be integrated within the White House, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and other federal agencies.”

In a speech on Monday, Musk made a brief mention of DOGE, stating his desire to “bring DOGE to Mars” under Trump’s administration. “I’m very enthusiastic about the future,” he remarked. In a recent interview, Musk expressed his ambition for DOGE to achieve cuts of up to $2 trillion in federal expenditures.

Ramaswamy did not appear at the same event as Musk and has yet to make any public statements regarding the decision.

In late December, Ramaswamy and Musk attracted controversy through comments made on X concerning H-1B visas. Ramaswamy criticized U.S. companies for seeking labor abroad and attributed a culture of “mediocrity over excellence” to American society.

Referencing popular television shows, Ramaswamy remarked, “That issue doesn’t begin in college; it originates at a young age. A culture that elevates the prom queen above the math Olympiad champion, or the athlete over the valedictorian, will not yield the best engineers.”

Some Republicans and Trump supporters, including former Rep. Matt Gaetz, voiced criticism regarding the comments from Ramaswamy and Musk. Musk had previously indicated that the United States should aim to “double” the number of its engineers.

“We welcomed the tech entrepreneurs when they turned to us to escape from the education policies regarding their children’s gender—or the obvious decline under the Biden/Harris administration,” Gaetz stated in a post on Thursday. “We did not invite them to formulate an immigration policy.”

In remarks to the media on New Year’s Eve, Trump suggested his support for the H-1B visa program, emphasizing the need for “competent individuals.”

“We need intelligent people coming into our country. We require many newcomers. We are going to create jobs like we’ve never seen before,” Trump asserted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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