The President-elect of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump, announced this week that entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a federal body that aims to drastically reduce bureaucracy and public spending.
Musk and Ramaswamy will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to redesign federal structures and reduce bureaucracy and public spending, in an initiative dubbed the "Manhattan Project", which aims to implement broad reforms by July 4, 2026, when the 250th anniversary of US independence will be celebrated.
"A smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift for America", declared Trump, showing full confidence in Musk and Ramaswamy's ability to achieve this goal.
With these appointments, Trump aims to reinforce the promises of a more efficient administration, based on the elimination of excesses and overlapping functions, but also on the reduction of the government machine by up to 75%.
These proposals were launched by Ramaswamy, who even ran in the Republican primaries for the presidential nomination, who suggested radical cuts in departments such as Education or in federal agencies such as the FBI (US federal police).
Billionaire entrepreneur and the world's richest man, Elon Musk - known for his criticism of federal regulations that he says stifle innovation - has pledged to cut up to $2 trillion (about €1.8 trillion) from the federal budget.
Musk - who has faced regulatory hurdles in the operations of his companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX - said that this initiative "will send shock waves through the system" and eliminate bureaucratic waste.
Musk's selection to join Trump's team is raising serious questions about possible conflicts of interest, since his companies have signed million-dollar contracts with the federal government and are involved in investigations by agencies that he himself will oversee.
For Musk, DOGE will represent a new level of his involvement in public policy and could redefine the landscape of the American technology economy.
The promise to reduce the bureaucracy that currently limits the space exploration sector, especially in obtaining environmental permits for SpaceX, is a personal priority for Musk.
His vision, already expressed in a statement, is of a federal administration "free from obstacles and committed to national development".
Vivek Ramaswamy - a former pharmaceutical executive and former rival of Trump in the Republican primaries - brought to the President-elect's campaign a rhetoric of fighting the so-called Washington 'establishment', supporting radical measures to reduce the machinery of government.
A fervent defender of deregulation, Ramaswamy advocates a more aggressive approach in eliminating agencies and functions that, in his view, divert the government's focus from "directly serving the interests of the American citizen".
Trump insists on the promise of "draining the swamp", which dates back to his first term (2017-2021), and presents a political project with an unprecedented formal structure, based on two prominent and controversial figures from the private sector.
The creation of DOGE --- whose acronym refers to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency frequently promoted by Musk --- reflects the more irreverent and disruptive tone that Trump seems to want to adopt for his future term.
However, the proposal to reform the federal bureaucracy has precedents in the recent past.
The most similar example was the initiative of former Vice President Al Gore, who, during the term of Democratic President Bill Clinton, led the National Partnership to Reinvent Government in the 1990s.
Although the experiment reduced some redundant positions and programs, it fell short of a true structural transformation.
This time, Trump's effort, according to Ramaswamy, is "deeper and unprecedented", seeking "a historic restructuring that saves billions in wasted resources".
The appointments of Musk and Ramaswamy show Trump's rapprochement with leaders who stand out for their aggressive market strategies and for defending a less interventionist administration, without the constraints of traditional bureaucracy.
With these options, Trump signals a second term focused on transforming the state apparatus to meet "the desires of Americans directly" and strengthen the private sector's decision-making power over the national economy.
Despite the grand promises, the practical strategies to achieve these goals have not yet been clarified.
Some observers question whether the plan is politically and structurally viable, especially in areas such as Defense and Health, which account for a large part of the federal budget.
Trump, the winner of the presidential election on November 5, was received today at the White House in Washington by the outgoing President, Joe Biden, to begin the process of government transition.
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