Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined an ambitious vision to overhaul the federal government, prioritising drastic regulatory cuts and workforce reductions. Writing in a joint op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, the billionaire entrepreneur and the biotech founder shared their plans for the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative spearheaded by President-elect Donald Trump. The two described their approach as a bold move to return power to elected officials and reduce the influence of unelected bureaucrats.
“Our nation was founded on the basic idea that the people we elect run the government. That isn’t how America functions today,” they said, adding that “most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but ‘rules and regulations’ promulgated by unelected bureaucrats—tens of thousands of them each year.”
Musk and Ramaswamy argued that this system, shielded by civil-service protections, has grown into an “antidemocratic” apparatus that burdens taxpayers with unnecessary costs. They pledged to implement sweeping reforms through DOGE, which they described as a “lean team of small-government crusaders” working closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Five day work week for federal employees
Musk and Ramaswamy also proposed radical workforce reductions, including requiring federal employees to work in-person five days a week—a move they believe will trigger voluntary resignations. “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” they wrote.
Cost-saving measures were another central focus, with the duo estimating potential reductions exceeding $500 billion in unauthorised expenditures. They highlighted programmes like the $535 million annual funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $300 million allocated to Planned Parenthood as examples of questionable spending that would be cut.
‘Driving change through existing legislation’
According to Musk and Ramaswamy, the group will leverage recent Supreme Court rulings, such as West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and Loper Bright v. Raimondo, to target regulations that lack clear congressional approval. “We will focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws,” they wrote, describing the US Constitution as their “North Star.”
One of their first initiatives involves identifying regulations that Trump could nullify immediately through executive action. These, they argued, would free businesses and individuals from the constraints of “illicit regulations” and stimulate the economy. “When the president nullifies thousands of such regulations, critics will allege executive overreach. In fact, it will be correcting the executive overreach of thousands of regulations promulgated by administrative fiat,” they noted.
‘A historic opportunity’
Acknowledging the likelihood of political and legal pushback, Musk and Ramaswamy expressed confidence in their mandate. “With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government,” they declared.
The authors set an ambitious deadline of July 4, 2026, to finalise their reforms, framing their mission as a transformative effort to restore governance to its constitutional roots. “We expect to prevail,” they concluded, signalling their readiness to confront entrenched interests in Washington.
