Musk, Ramaswamy outline DOGE's plans to downsize government

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday outlined their plans to downsize the federal government as co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The pair will lead Trump's newly created agency intended for the sole purpose of eliminating unnecessary expenditures and programs. They explained their approach in a Wednesday op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

"This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget," the wrote. "The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings."

Both acknowledged that much of their effort will rely on executive action from Trump himself.

They specifically cited Supreme Court precedents eliminating Chevron doctrine and restricting the ability of executive agencies to impose regulations without congressional approval. Those rulings, they argued, would serve as the basis for eliminating a multitude of now-invalid regulations.

"When the president nullifies thousands of such regulations, critics will allege executive overreach," they acknowledged. "In fact, it will be correcting the executive overreach of thousands of regulations promulgated by administrative fiat that were never authorized by Congress."

They also plan to ask that employees come to the office five days per week, which they expect to prompt a voluntary exodus from federal employees.