“DOGE” Department of Government Efficiency
Washington, Nov 12 (EFE).-
United States President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday the appointment of billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as officials to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
In a statement, Trump said the department, whose acronym spells “DOGE” – an internet meme and cryptocurrency through which Musk conceived the name – “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
He said the work of this office, which is not a government agency despite its name, must be completed no later than Jul. 4, 2026, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the US’ founding.
Musk’s appointment to head this office was expected, but the appointment of businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former candidate for the Republican nomination in these elections, to co-direct it has been surprising.
Trump has announced the appointments of his next administration throughout Tuesday, revealing Pete Hegseth as the new defense secretary.
Other notable appointments announced Tuesday include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as the new ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee’s appointment cements Trump’s promise to align himself more closely with Israel’s interests in foreign policy while waging wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump nominated South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to be his Department of Homeland Security secretary.
With Noem and the recent announcement of Tom Homan’s appointment to lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump is selecting loyalists who will defend and execute his controversial plans for the mass deportation of undocumented migrants.
The president-elect also nominated war veteran and Fox network host Pete Hegseth as his new defense secretary.
Hegseth, a decorated veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and a Princeton University graduate, will head the Pentagon and lead more than 1.3 million active-duty troops.
On Tuesday, Trump also announced that businessman and philanthropist Steve Witkoff, one of his closest friends, will be his future special Middle East envoy, and appointed John Ratcliffe, former National Intelligence director, to head the Central Intelligence Agency. EFE
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