Hinting at a bid for Ohio governor, Indian American biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed on Monday he will not serve on Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), leaving Tesla CEO Elon Musk to singularly lead the advisory group.
“It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE,” Ramaswamy wrote Monday on the social platform X. “I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump [make] America great again!”
READ: DOGE leaders Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy target 94% of remote federal workers (December 9, 2024)
Ramaswamy’s remarks were part of a repost of a statement by a DOGE spokesperson, Anna Kelly, who told outlets he “played a critical role in helping us create DOGE.”
“He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today. We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last two months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again,” Kelly added.
President Donald Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to co-lead DOGE shortly after electoral victory last year, promising to cut down on federal spending and slash federal jobs that the nongovernmental task force deems unnecessary.
The Hill reported last week that Ramaswamy plans to run for governor of Ohio, raising questions about his involvement with the cost-cutting commission. Politico reported he is planning to announce a run for Ohio governor next week.
Musk on Monday said he is planning to “work his a– off” with regards to DOGE, though his role has raised conflict of interest concerns due to Tesla and SpaceX contracts with the federal government.
Meanwhile, Politico suggested that Musk had eased Ramaswamy out after an “ill-received holiday rant on X by Ramaswamy about H-1B visas.” Musk made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days, it said citing three people familiar with Musk’s preferences.
Politico said Ramaswamy declined to comment to about perceived tensions with Musk. But it cited “a person familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking” as saying they are now on good terms and that “the reality is that it wasn’t possible” to run for governor and co-lead DOGE “both at once.”
“Even Hill Republicans have joined the Ramaswamy bashing,” according to Politico. A cheeky meme portraying Musk erasing Ramaswamy from history was privately shared by junior staff in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, it said citing a person familiar with the meme. It depicted Musk as Josef Stalin and Ramaswamy as the chief of the Soviet secret police who was later executed and removed from photos. A spokesperson for Johnson’s office denied the account.
Just last week, Ramaswamy was passed over by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in his pick for Ohio’s Senate seat, after Ramaswamy mounted a late lobbying blitz for the seat.
READ: Will Vivek Ramaswamy withdraw from DOGE? (January 20, 2025)
At a rally Sunday, Trump talked about DOGE and did not indicate that any changes were imminent. He said, “We have [Musk] and Vivek and some great people working on a thing called costs.”
One main reason for some Republicans’ frustration with Ramaswamy was a post he made on X during a discussion of H-1B visas, according to Politico. In late December, Ramaswamy criticized American culture, saying that tech companies hire foreign workers in part because of a mindset in the country that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
“They wanted him out before the tweet — but kicked him to the curb when that came out,” Politico said citing an unnamed source.