Elon Musk to Clean Up the Government.
WASHINGTON, BRATISLAVA. The famous joke about the moments when the state tries to slim down itself goes, “We have founded a committee to fight bureaucracy.” Similarly, the creation of the new American office DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) seems to be on the same lines.
It is one of the first known steps of the forming administration of the elected American President Donald Trump, which is beginning to take concrete shape.
At the helm of the office is slated to be one of Trump’s most prominent campaign sponsors – the richest man in the world and owner of the social network X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk.
The other names in Trump’s cabinet are also known. Marco Rubio will be the Secretary of State, and Pete Hegseth will be the Secretary of Defense.
This might be the least standard administration in the last decades, writes CNN.
“Many of Trump’s supporters disdain the government in Washington and want to take revenge on the elites. On the other hand, Kamala Harris’s defeat brought a dark mood and fear to her voters that the state is plunging into an unstable and dangerous new era,” analyzed Stephen Collinson.
He notes that Trump’s people are primarily meant to meet the expectations of the voters and uphold the image of the President as an outsider. Loyalty to Trump is also important.
According to Collinson, his demands for loyalty stem from Trump’s deep distrust of the establishment, which in his first term in office hindered some of the President’s more extreme ideas.
What do we know so far about Trump’s cabinet?
- Elon Musk – head of government slimming
- Marco Rubio – Secretary of State
- Defense and security – loyal people
- Ambassador to the UN – Elise Stefanik
- Middle East – a purely pro-Israeli team
- CIA – loyal and experienced Ratcliffe
Elon Musk – Head of Government Slimming
Although the world’s media is spreading the name DOGE, which is allegedly derived from Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency Dogecoin, the BBC notes that formally it will not be a new government office, just a kind of working group.
Besides Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman in the pharmaceutical business and an unsuccessful presidential candidate who ended very early in this year’s Republican primaries, is also set to be part of this group.
BBC suggests how Musk might try to streamline the American government, reminding of what he did to the social network Twitter two years ago when he bought it for $44 billion and renamed it X.
One of the first steps was to reduce the number of employees from 8000 to about 1500 and eliminate content moderation or censorship.
According to BBC, Musk has problems with state regulations in his other companies as well. The US government accuses the electric car manufacturer Tesla of preventing its employees from joining unions. Musk allegedly claims that he is not against unions, but American unions in the auto industry “destroy the productivity and competitiveness of the company.”
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Musk is largely against state regulations because they interfere with his business. He has stated that the creation of DOGE is the only way humanity can sow life outside the planet Earth. His dream is to colonize Mars, but his space company SpaceX has had disputes with US aviation regulatory authorities.
Trump compared his efforts to streamline the government to the Manhattan Project, which was the codename for the development of the atomic bomb in the US during World War II.
According to BBC, Musk and Ramaswamy are expected to have government slimming completed by American Independence Day (July 4) 2026, which is projected to save $6.5 trillion annually in public expenditures.
Foreign Policy – Marco Rubio
Rubio’s nomination on Wednesday afternoon was not yet official, but American and British media have written about him as the future head of American diplomacy.
BBC recalls that Rubio has a reputation as a foreign policy hawk with a tough stance on China and Iran. In the past, such a reputation would also mean the same uncompromising attitude towards Russia, but there, Rubio’s views are less clear now, as in recent years he has adapted to his more successful rival Trump.
Rubio wanted to run for president as early as 2016, but he was defeated in the primaries by Trump. Today, he speaks of the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
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Before the alliance between Trump and Rubio, there was mutual vilification. In line with his tradition of creating nicknames for opponents, Trump called him “Little Marco.” However, like others, Rubio pragmatically supported Trump, who was more successful in the elections.
His tough stance on China also aligns him with the future Vice President J.D. Vance, adds BBC.
Security – Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Michael Waltz
Trump’s national security advisor is to be Michael Waltz – a congressman and former soldier. Waltz openly states that the United States must prepare for an impending war with China and, although he originally supported American aid to Ukraine, he has now aligned more with Trump’s line and talks about reassessing American military aid.
“Waltz has stated that NATO allies should invest more in defense, but he did not go as far as Trump, who allegedly hinted that the US could leave the alliance,” writes BBC.
“We can be allies and friends and still have tough conversations,” he said.
A notable figure in Trump’s cabinet is the future Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The forty-four-year-old war veteran previously worked as a journalist at the pro-Republican network Fox News and interviewed Trump.
“Who the hell is he?” asks Politico’s headline, according to which Hegseth has almost no reputation in the military and legislative community. The harsh question in the title was reportedly asked by one of the defense industry lobbyists, whom Politico quotes anonymously.
The security community at such a high position expected an experienced legislator or someone from the security policy environment. Representatives of veteran associations reportedly also have concerns that Hegseth is not competent enough.
Hegseth is likely part of Trump’s “loyal club” and will likely try to push through a conservative agenda in the new administration. In the armed forces, he could reinstate the ban on transgender individuals from serving, ban funding for abortions, but also reignite disputes over naming military bases after representatives of the American Confederacy.
This includes people from the time of the American Civil War, and references to the Confederacy often go hand in hand with racism or controversial forms of nationalism.
The third figure in the security section of Trump’s cabinet will be Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Governor of South Dakota got into a dispute with representatives of Native American tribes in her state in May. When she accused Indian tribes of trading with drug cartels and even preferring drug trafficking over child rearing, they officially banned her from entering Indian reservations in South Dakota.
Additionally, she admitted in the past to killing her dog. According to BBC, in twenty-two years, the Governor left high school to take care of the family farm.
CNN reminds us that Noem also lacks extensive experience in security policy, but she is among the top admirers and agitators of Trump’s club.
Ambassador to the UN – Elise Stefanik
Media often mention the Czech origin of the congresswoman and long-time Trump supporter. She is set to become the American Ambassador to the UN, where she would replace career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield with 35 years of experience.
Originally known as a traditional Republican, she has worked in George W. Bush’s administration, but she has adapted to Trumpism.
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She recently gained media attention during a congressional grilling of then-Harvard University president Claudine Gay. The president failed to unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism on university campuses and eventually resigned due to a plagiarism scandal.
Elise Stefanik thus celebrated political success in the fight against liberalism on university campuses. Apart from this dispute, she is a staunchly pro-Israeli politician.
Huckabee – Palestine Doesn’t Exist
The showcase of significantly pro-Israeli figures in the emerging administration is complemented by Mike Huckabee, who is set to become the new US Ambassador to Israel.
He considers the West Bank, where Israel is building controversial settlements, as a regular part of Israel, reports The Guardian.
CNN also recalled that in 2008, Huckabee said that something like “Palestinian” is actually a non-existent thing. He is not the only one who refers to Palestinians as Arabs and considers the idea of a Palestinian nation as a political tool to take away Israeli territory.
Like Rubio, former Arkansas Governor Huckabee twice tried to win the Republican nomination for presidential elections.
Trump’s advisor for the Middle East is set to be Steve Witkoff, a tycoon and golfing partner of the future president, who raised millions of dollars for his campaign from Jewish donors after the Biden administration refused to provide certain types of bombs to Israel, reports The New York Times.
CIA Director – Loyal and Experienced
Among Trump’s loyalists is John Ratcliffe, who is set to be the new head of the secret service, the CIA. He also has experience in the intelligence and political environment, having been head of the secret services in the first Donald Trump administration and facing criticism for helping Trump use the secret services for political purposes.
Trump values him for his loyalty, but critics argue that he is clearly biased in favor of Republicans.
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