19 November 2024

Will the Department of Government Efficiency Tackle the Pentagon?

William Hartung

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to create a “Department of Government Efficiency,” co-chaired by businessman Elon Musk and former political rival Vivek Ramaswamy. Both have pledged deep cuts.

In a September 2023 speech in Los Angeles, Ramaswamy pledged to shut down the FBI, IRS, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Education. Just to drive home the point, Ramaswamy said that “[m]ass layoffs are absolutely what I would bring to Washington DC.”

Ramaswamy has failed to explain how the government will be able to carry out basic functions like collecting revenue, enforcing the law, dealing with pandemics, or preventing nuclear accidents once his targeted agencies are no more.


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