Trump Taps Dogecoin Fan Elon Musk to Lead D.O.G.E. Agency With Vivek Ramaswamy

On Tuesday night, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new administrations Department of Government Efficiency, also known as D.O.GE.

“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement on X, calling the move essential to the “Save America” movement.

Specifically, the agencys goals include dismantling unnecessary government structures, targeting excess spending, reforming existing agencies, and eliminating what the former president and Musk have dubbed waste and fraud within the $6.5 trillion federal budget. Its ultimate aim is to create a smaller, more accountable government focused on efficiency and entrepreneurship, per the statement.

Trump first floated the idea of Musk leading a government efficiency commission to audit federal agencies during a speech to the Economic Club of New York in September. “This would unlock tremendous prosperity for America,” Musk said at the time.

President Donald J. Trump announces the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — headed by @elonmusk and @VivekGRamaswamy

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 13, 2024

According to Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency will complete its work by July 4, 2026, a date he emphasized as essential, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

“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,” Trump said.

Good boy

Dogecoin (DOGE), a crypto often closely tied to Musks social media musings, rose 6% ahead of the announcement before paring back gains. Doge is trading at $0.38, down 9.3% from its earlier Tuesday peak of $0.43, CoinGecko data shows.

Like the rest of the crypto market, Dogecoin has gone wild since Trump won the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. On Sunday, Dogecoin hit a three-year high, rising 20% to $0.27. Dogecoins largest all-time high to date was May 8, 2021, when the original meme-coin hit $0.73.

Other DOGE-themed meme coins also surged after Musks appointment, with the DOGE token rising 78.6% to $0.37, according to CoinGecko. The token had already risen 291% the previous week.