Elon Musk has been picked by US President-Elect Donald Trump to lead his new efficiency team.
Mr Trump announced yesterday that the Tesla and X owner, who is also the world's richest man, will lead his Department of Government Efficiency - or DOGE for short.
Mr Musk will work with former presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the department.
In a statement, the President-Elect said the pair would "pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies."
Despite its name, DOGE will not be a government agency and will instead provide "advice and guidance" from outside the government.
As they will not be considered federal workers, Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy will likely be able to continue working in the private sector.
Musk endorsement
During the presidential election, Mr Musk endorsed Mr Trump and spent over $119 million supporting his candidacy in the seven battleground states.
Mr Musk has previously stated his desire to cut back on "government waste".
On his X platform, he said he could cut as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments, writing that "99 is enough".
In a separate post, he wrote, "Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to bureaucracy."
Mr Ramaswamy threw his support behind Mr Trump after suspending his own presidential bid in January.
DOGE
The DOGE acronym coincides with a popular meme and the name of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin that Mr Musk promotes.
The department has been given a deadline of July 4th 2026 to conclude their work.
Mr Musk said in a statement that DOGE will "send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste".
In the past, he called for $2 trillion to be slashed from the federal budget.
Mr Ramaswamy, meanwhile, has previously called for mass lay-offs in federal agencies.
The union representing federal workers said in a statement on Tuesday that if the DOGE implements these recommendations, or ones similar, it would mean "massive cuts" to multiple departments.
Reporting by IRN.
