Trump appoints Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE

Donald Trump has kept his promise to offer billionaire Elon Musk a role in his administration.

The president-elect said in a statement that Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

He added the pair quote “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

Musk, the world’s richest person, leads electric car company Tesla, social media platform X and rocket company SpaceX.

He gave millions of dollars to support Trump's presidential run, and often joined him on the campaign trail.

The acronym of the new department - DOGE - coincides with the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Musk promotes.

In a social media post about the new department, he said "threat to democracy? Nope, threat to bureaucracy!"

Ramaswamy is the founder of a pharmaceutical company who threw his support behind Trump after dropping out of the race himself.

Trump said the pair's work would conclude by July 4, 2026, and that a smaller and more efficient government would be a "gift" to the country on its 250th anniversary.

Trump also picked former top US spy and close ally John Ratcliffe to serve as CIA director.

After his stint as the director of national intelligence at the end of Trump's first term, Ratcliffe went on to co-chair a think tank advocating Trump positions.

He also advised on national security policy during Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

The president elect also nominated South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security,

She is a staunch ally who has taken a hardline stance on illegal immigration, but has little national security experience.

Trump tapped Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth to be his secretary of defense.

He could make good on Trump's promises to rid the military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks.