I have a better idea. Instead of any kind of new department we just take a match to what we have now?
Anyway, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head the Department of Government Efficiency.
Yes, it will be known as DOGE. If you guys don’t know the significance of its name, I encourage you to read about Dogecoin.
Trump insists DOGE’s work will end “no later than July 4, 2026.”
I’ll believe it when I see it. When’s the last time government established something and it went away?
Trump said:
It will become, potentially, “The Manhattan Project” of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of “DOGE” for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.
I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.” Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!
🚨STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
Let’s go, @elonmusk @VivekGRamaswamy! pic.twitter.com/YKT1V1UBVR
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) November 13, 2024
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Comments
Well, without an Act of Congress I don’t see it becoming a full-metal Cabinet department with a Senate-confirmed Secretary.
I thought Elon would be appointed Director of the Office of Government Efficiency, making him the DOGE.
No act of congress is required. While Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 says that congress MAY create departments in its discretion, nothing in the language suggest that ONLY congress can do so or that an act of congress is necessary precondtion for the Artle II head to do so.
Musk does not have time to do this full time and Ramaswamy also fits perfectly into the role of CEO.
Trump is shaking things up. He was not kidding when he said that things will change fast. The sad thing is that progressives will try to obstruct no matter what. The reckoning of their abuses approaches and who knows what they will do hide from the sunlight.
This is great in principle. Musk fired most of Twitter’s employees and made it a better company. You could probably take 20% out of the cost of operating government without affecting performance at all. But to how many employees can you just say “You’re fired” and they actually will go away?
For all practical purposes, none of them. Unlike many employees in private companies operating in most states, federal government employees are largely NOT categorized as “at will.’ There are some employees in the Executive Branch that ‘serve at the pleasure of the president’ (like political appointees, for instance and some military officers). But, this is a fraction of a fraction of the total work force. For everyone else, there is some varying layer of employment protection. Some of these protections are statutory, regulatory or protections negotiated through collective bargaining agreements. Average Americans (those without experience working for the government themselves) have little idea how incredibly difficult it is to get fired from the US federal government.
A recent SCOTUS decision ruled, effectively (and correctly), that the POTUS is the executive branch. There may be rules regarding employment that won’t permit him to fire people (these could be challenged now as a legislative intrusion on the authority of the POTUS/executive branch). But POTUS can probably eliminate, at will, offices and positions within agencies. The difference may be subtle, and those who lose their positions may be laterally transfered to other positions (knocking less senior employees out of their positions), but the net effect will be a RIF.
I know how this works because this is exactly what happened to me (I’m a state worker). My position was eliminated. Normally, I would have been able to bump a less senior employee, but the agency was intent on getting rid of me, personally, so it ruled there were no suitable jobs into which I could be laterally transferred. The law and union rules did not protect me. Even if I had bumped someone, somewhere down the line an employee would have been let go.
I would not be surprised if something like this can be done at the federal level. The law may say a worker can’t be fired, but positions can probably be eliminated, as there is no guarantee of actually having a job.
I’ve just been listening to Musk’s autobiography.
He should buy Boeing.
But if he cleans house at the dept of Useless as tits on bulls, then good for him, good for us. Bring some chlorine to the swamp.
I dont see how Musk gets past the conflict of interest**. He owns Twitter, Tesla, and most importantly SpaceX (which has huge government contracts). He cant (for example) be involved in the cancellation of NASA’s SLS (because that would benefit SpaceX). I think SLS is a massive waste and SpaceX is cheaper, but his involvement will only bring lawsuits.
** He could resign and put his assets in a trust. I cant see this.
Musk and Ramaswamy riding roughshod over our tormentors?
Oh, hells yes.
Frankenstein loosed.
https://youtu.be/P8f-Qb-bwlU?si=Ri99kfqjoTrRsXL-
Yes and Hell yes. I say we give them new sharpening stones to make sure that the blade they’re using is razor sharp
I like the sound of it but expect a bi partisan war against any reductions. Everyone likes the sound of “Mr. Chairman’, even Republicans.
Trump has just put Musk and Ramaswamy in charge of the project with the most potential benefits and long-term consequences. Our government is bloated beyond belief, which impacts the cost of the government, the efficiency of the government, and the evil potential of the government. This is also the hardest “easy” problem to solve, but Trump has a unique opening in American history to handle it.
I am very, very optimistic about this effort and I think Musk and Ramaswamy are perfect for the task. We’ll see. I think this could be yuge!!!
Of course, because everybody knows that the best way to get rid of bureaucracies is to create another one.
It’s time limited 7/4/26
“When’s the last time government established something and it went away?”
1973. The Draft.
Though like smallpox, it could always come back.
It appears DOGE is not a new govt agency. The announcement says DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside Government…” and work with the WH and OMB to implement. So he’s setting them up as outside consultants. Potentially a brilliant solution to multiple issues, and I doubt either Elon or Vivek wants to become a government employee, and they likely can’t afford the pay cut.
Despite the name, this is obviously not going to be an actual department of government. If it were then they’d need nomination and senate confirmation. Also Trump said explicitly that they’d be offering advice and guidance from outside government, rather than doing anything themselves.
So there’s no new bureaucracy either. They’ll presumably have a budget and employees, but once their final report is in they all go home, and their recommendations are either adopted or rejected.
So what you’re describing is a system under which these two guys have no actual power. Instead, they write up a Mueller Report, or a Contract With America, and leave it up to somebody else to implement, which no one will.
Presumably they’ll deliver their report directly to Trump, who will consider it and decide what actions he ought to take.
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