Musk and Ramaswamy race to build a 'DOGE' team for war with Washington

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Musk and Ramaswamy race to build a ‘DOGE’ team for war with Washington

The Tesla executive and the former presidential candidate are meeting with staff and interviewing experts as they plan for massive federal cuts.


Elon Musk attends the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 14. (Saul Martinez for The Washington Post)

By Elizabeth Dwoskin, Jeff Stein, Jacob Bogage and Faiz Siddiqui
November 24, 2024 at 6:28 p.m. EST

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are interviewing job candidates and seeking advice from experts in Washington and Silicon Valley — pushing a sweeping vision for the “Department of Government Efficiency” past the realm of memes and viral posts into potential real-world disruption.

Tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead an advisory panel to find “drastic” cuts to the federal government, the billionaire “DOGE” leaders have spent the past week in Washington and at Mar-a-Lago, seeking staff and interviewing seasoned Washington operators, legal specialists and top tech leaders, according to five people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect private deliberations.

Both lobbied for Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to run the White House budget office, who is close with Ramaswamy, several people said. The men see Vought, who is enthusiastic about their arguments to rely on an expansive and boundary-pushing view of executive power to reform the government, as a key potential ally.

Top Musk surrogates from his business empire — including private equity executive Antonio Gracias and Boring Company President Steve Davis — are involved in planning, the people said, along with a coterie of Musk friends and Silicon Valley leaders, including Palantir co-founder and investor Joe Lonsdale, who funds a libertarian-leaning nonprofit dedicated to government efficiency; investor Marc Andreessen; hedge fund manager Bill Ackman; and former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick. Ramaswamy, Musk and the Silicon Valley cohort plan to work on technical challenges to collecting data about federal employees and programs, which they believe is siloed in antiquated systems. Andreessen is acting as a key networker for talent recruitment, one person said. Those executives did not immediately return requests for comment.

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[Irish_Dem]

1. Wealthy Americans who made their fortunes because they live in the US.

And have access to a well run government system, all the services and opportunities it provides.

Now they want to destroy the goose that laid the golden egg for them.