Donald Trump confirmed that Elon Musk will co-lead the new Department of Government Effectiveness by nominating Fox News host and National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense.

The president-elect said Tuesday that Mr. Musk, the Owner of Tesla and X who is also the world’s richest man, will work with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the department, known as DOGE for short.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump’s choice of Mr. Hegseth as defense secretary came as a surprise to many, with critics pointing to his lack of experience and noting his opposition to “woke” ideas promoting fairness and inclusion.

Mr. Hegeseth has previously said that men and women serving together “makes it more complicated” and that while diversity in the military is a strength, he said it is because minority men and White men “may perform similarly,” but the same is not true for women. .

Learn more: Who is on Trump’s top team?

Mr. Musk’s appointment keeps a promise Mr. Trump made to the tech billionaire after backing him in the race for the White House and investing more than $119 million (£92 million) to canvass for him in the seven battleground states.

In a statement, the president-elect said Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy “will lead the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, cut wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies.”

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to reduce “government waste” and, in a post on his writing: “99 is enough”.

In another article, he wrote: “Threat to democracy? No, threat to the bureaucracy. »

In a series of choices for his second administration, Mr. Trump also said he would nominate former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as CIA director.

What is DOGE?

Despite its name, DOGE is not a government agency and is instead intended to provide “advice and guidance” from outside of government.

Trump’s statement said he will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “carry out large-scale structural reforms and create a never-before-seen entrepreneurial approach to government.”

This will likely mean Mr Musk and biotech entrepreneur Mr Ramaswamy will be allowed to continue working in the private sector and serving without Senate approval, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported, as they do not would technically not be federal workers.

Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets to avoid potential conflicts of interest and to divest themselves of significant holdings related to their work.

After being elected president in 2016, Mr. Trump handed control of his business empire to his sons in an attempt to avoid a conflict of interest. The move was later criticized by the director of the Office of Government Ethics, saying it did not go far enough and that Mr. Trump “always knew what he had.”

“More efficiency and less bureaucracy”

A deadline of July 4, 2026 has been set for the new DOGE to conclude its work.

The acronym DOGE coincides with a popular meme and the name of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency that Mr. Musk promotes.

Mr. Trump added: “Smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the ideal gift to America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I am convinced that it will succeed!”

Mr. Musk said in the statement that the department would “send shockwaves through the system and to anyone involved in government waste.”

The billionaire has said in the past he wants to cut $2 trillion (£1.56 trillion) from the federal budget, but has provided few details on what he would cut.

Meanwhile, Mr Ramaswamy, who threw his support behind Mr Trump after he suspended his own presidential bid in January, had previously called for mass layoffs at federal agencies.

The union representing federal workers said in a statement Tuesday that if DOGE implemented these or similar recommendations, it would “result in massive cuts” to several departments.

Trump assembles the best team

Mr. Hegseth, a National Guard captain well known in conservative circles as co-host of the Fox & Friends Weekend show on Fox News Channel, will be Mr. Trump’s defense secretary, replacing the general from retired high ranking Lloyd Austin.

A staunch conservative who adheres to Mr. Trump’s “America First” policy, Mr. Hegseth has pushed to make the military more lethal.

And during an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, he said allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.

“Everything about men and women serving together makes it more complicated, and the complication of combat means the casualties are even worse,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Earlier this week, President-elect Trump named Susie Wiles — who led his 2024 presidential campaign — as White House chief of staff, the first woman in history to hold one of the most important unelected positions in Washington.

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Florida Senator Marco Rubio would be named secretary of state, who is the president’s principal adviser on foreign affairs and the nation’s top diplomat.

If chosen, Mr. Rubio would be the first Latino member of the president-elect’s senior team, but Mr. Trump could still change his mind on the nomination.

Below is a list of the appointments Mr. Trump has made so far for his administration:

• Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
• Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
• Elon Musk, co-head of the Department of Government Effectiveness
• Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of the Department of Government Effectiveness
• Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor
• Tom Homan, “border tsar”
• Elise Stefanik, United Nations Ambassador
• Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
• Lee Zeldin, director of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
• Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
• John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA
• William McGinley, White House Counsel
• Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security.