Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are seeking volunteers to be a part of their first-of-its kind, unofficial government entity, according to the Washington Post, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The world’s richest man and the former Republican presidential candidate are apparently interviewing Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley’s finest, spending the past week in the capital and at Mar-a-Lago, two hubs of the new political universe. Musk and Ramaswamy were tapped by president-elect Donald Trump to run the Department of Government Efficiency, with a subcommittee chaired by none other than Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Now they’re tapping their networks, or at the very least other Silicon Valley execs.
The outreach appears to include venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick. Antonio Gracias, a former Tesla director, and Steve Davis, president of the Boring Company, were named, too. The latter two are affiliated with Musk’s many companies.
And it seems that cohort is involved in the planning—but more specifically, is expected to work on technical challenges to collecting data on federal employees and programs. Andreessen is recruiting talent, according to the Washington Post.
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is supposedly charged with cutting costs and reducing headcount. “We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, despite regularly denouncing the media.
According to the Washington Post, the two aren’t only looking to build their team, but finding others who will help their cause. People familiar told the publication that Musk and Ramaswamy lobbied for Russell Vought, who Trump chose to run the White House Budget office. Vought is reportedly close to Ramaswamy, and he and Musk see Vought as a potential ally. In the Wall Street Journal op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy wrote: “We are assisting the Trump transition team to identify and hire a lean team of small-government crusaders, including some of the sharpest technical and legal minds in America. This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget.”
Loyalty matters, it seems. Musk threw his support behind Trump. He was a surrogate for the campaign, showing up at rallies on the campaign trail, appearing on podcasts, creating a political action committee that spent $200 million to ensure a second Trump presidency. Ramaswamy dropped out and endorsed Trump. Andreessen and Ackman were staunch supporters of Trump, and really Musk, too. On Election Day, Musk wrote: “America is a nation of builders. Soon, you will be free to build.” When Trump won, Andreessen wrote back: “It’s time to build,” in homage to his essay more than four years ago.
