President-elect Donald Trump assigned Elon Musk on Tuesday to “dismantle” the U.S. bureaucracy, and named a longtime Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, to lead the Pentagon.
Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, had offered himself during the campaign as someone who could cut waste out of the federal budget. In late October, he claimed he could cut $2 trillion.
Trump said that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican primary candidate, would provide outside advice to the administration from a “Department of Government Efficiency.” The acronym DOGE is also a nod to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency that has been associated with Musk — a self-serving move that raised immediate hackles among pundits given that the price of Dogecoin shot up with the announcement.
“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. “It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time.”
Trump said he would appoint Hegseth as secretary of defense. Hegseth co-hosts “Fox and Friends Weekend” and has been with the channel since 2014.
“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump said in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”
He was an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, and served in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars.
He was also CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a conservative veterans’ group. At Fox News, he has hosted various specials, including the “All American New Year” specials.
“Pete Hegseth has been an exceptional host on ‘Fox and Friends’ and ‘Fox Nation’ and a best-selling author for Fox News Books for nearly a decade,” the network said in a statement. “His insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success that it is today. We are extremely proud of his work at Fox News Media and wish him the best of luck in Washington.”
Trump’s announcement noted that Hegseth’s recent book, “The War on Warriors,” spent nine weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.
“The book reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence,” Trump said. “Pete has also led two Veterans Advocacy organizations, leading the fight for our Warriors, and our great Veterans. Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
Hegseth was a strong supporter of Trump’s policies during his first term.
As for Musk and Ramaswamy, Trump said their work would conclude in time for the country’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026.
Musk was quoted in the statement as saying: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
