 "Vivek Ramaswamy arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. Reuters")
Indian-origin biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is out of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) that he was supposed to lead with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In a post on X, the former United States presidential candidate confirmed the development, adding that he will have “more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio”.
“It was my honour to help support the creation of Doge. 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,” Ramaswamy wrote on X.
He reportedly intends to run for Ohio governor. However, that is not the only reason that Ramaswamy has left Doge. In fact, a report says it was Musk who got him thrown out of the advisory group that aims to slim down federal spending through budget cuts and mass firings.
Let’s take a closer look.
Vivek Ramaswamy out of Doge
Ramaswamy’s departure from Doge comes just 69 days after US President Donald Trump announced the team.
Hours after Trump was sworn in for his second term on Monday (January 20), the White House confirmed the development to Associated Press (AP).
“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create Doge," Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement. “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.”
This comes after several media outlets reported last week that Ramaswamy would exit the body.
Did a tweet get Vivek Ramaswamy ‘fired’?
A Politico report claims Ramaswamy fell out of favour with Musk who got him booted from Doge. It says the biotech entrepreneur’s tweet about H-1B visas sealed his fate.
In a long post on December 26, 2024, Ramaswamy decried American culture that “venerated mediocrity over excellence”, which he said was partly why tech companies hire foreign workers.
His tweet did not go down well with Republicans or Musk. “They wanted him out before the tweet — but kicked him to the curb when that came out,” a person familiar with his departure told the news outlet.
According to a person close to Doge, Musk did not think it was “feasible” for Ramaswamy to pursue a gubernatorial bid while co-chairing the advisory body.
Three people familiar with Musk’s preferences who spoke to Politico revealed that the Tesla CEO, a close confidant of Trump, made it clear he wanted Ramaswamy out of Doge in recent days. Musk is now the sole leader of Doge.
Ramaswamy “just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon. Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of DC,” a Republican strategist close to Trump advisers said.
A source told Politico that Ramaswamy had not done any work for Doge since early December.
According to CBS News, there was a rift between Ramaswamy and the incoming Doge staff. People close to Musk also “privately undercut” Ramaswamy for weeks due to him shying away from doing the heavy lifting.
Ramaswamy is now expected to launch a bid for Ohio governor to succeed Republican leader Mike DeWine, who is term-limited.
The Ohio election is slated to take place in November 2026.
Is DOGE in trouble?
Despite its name, it is not an official government department. As per Trump, the body “will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government”.
It will suggest ways to reduce federal bureaucracy, cut federal spending and restructure federal agencies, as per the US president.
After assuming office on Monday, President Trump signed an executive order to create DOGE, which has landed in trouble. The Trump administration was sued at least four times over DOGE on Inauguration Day. Three lawsuits argue it violates federal transparency law.
A 30-page lawsuit, obtained by The Washington Post, alleges DOGE does not follow transparency rules on disclosure, hiring and other practices.
“Not a single member of DOGE is a federal employee or represents the perspective of federal employees, despite the evidence that DOGE intends to provide recommendations regarding federal employment practices and ways to reduce the size of the federal workforce,” the lawsuit reads.
DOGE will operate outside of the US government and would thus have limited official power to carry out the sweeping cuts proposed earlier by Musk and Ramaswamy. But will it reform the government? Only time will tell.
With inputs from agencies