‘This will send shockwaves through the system’: Trump’s DOGE duo allegedly set to ‘delete’ government agencies
Vivek Ramaswamy spoke about government agencies and federal workers as if they were business products: disposable to the whims of a CEO. This is particularly relevant as he and Elon Musk have been tasked with leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
During a Fox News interview, Ramaswamy claimed, “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.” There are numerous agencies that he and Musk are eyeing to strike. Particularly for Ramaswamy, the Department of Education is an institution he’s pushing to dismantle.
In addition to this, he and Elon Musk intend to downsize the number of civil servants when they take on their roles at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is all in the name of reducing government spending. Nevertheless, there is skepticism that Musk and Ramaswamy will be able to save billions in dollars just by laying off federal workers. After all, government expenditure largely goes to healthcare, social security, and the military. In the context of businesses, Ramaswamy and Musk can keep cost-cutting for the sake of efficiency. The same can’t be said for government structures, which aren’t built for profit-making. Musk himself would have no idea how to run governments either, since he’s never held a political position.
A dream of corporate capture
DOGE, according to Donald Trump, will “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” Although it has department in its acronym, DOGE will be a project working outside the government in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget. Despite conflicting interests, Musk and Ramaswamy will be heading the newly minted DOGE.
Ramaswamy and Musk stand to gain from running DOGE. Notably, Musk has been facing federal regulatory issues with several of his companies. Neuralink, Tesla, Space X, and X are all either facing federal investigations or regulatory battles. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy is the founder of Roivant Sciences. His incoming role at DOGE may allow his firm to dodge federal requirements. Congress will be the last stand against Musk and Ramaswamy’s plan to gut the government. For now, Musk and Ramaswamy’s dystopic, hyper-technocratic vision will be far from reality.
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