Wall Street Journal: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy wants to drastically reduce the role of US federal authorities
Elon Musk, who was appointed special adviser to Donald Trump, has detailed for the first time in the Wall Street Journal his radical plan to reform the federal authorities, which includes dismissing a large number of government employees and cutting expenses.
The billionaire wrote in the article, which also bears the signature of businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-chair the new “Commission on Government Efficiency,” that he aims to save hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending as well as get rid of bureaucracy that poses an “existential threat” to American democracy.
“On November 5, voters gave Donald Trump a clear mandate for radical change,” said Musk, the world’s richest man.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and a recipient of major federal contracts, is relying on recent rulings by the US Supreme Court, to which the president-elect in his previous term (2017-2021) appointed a majority of conservative judges.
Elon Musk wrote that the court decisions suggest that a large number of existing federal rules have no legal basis because they weren’t expressly approved by Congress and can therefore be immediately suspended by presidential decree.
Musk promised a significant reduction in federal bureaucracy, saying that fired employees would receive support as they transition to the private sector or benefit from generous severance terms.
He suggested a return to the principle of remote work, which would lead to a wave of welcome voluntary resignations.
Musk believed that $500 billion in spending could be eliminated very quickly by cutting support for public broadcasters or progressive organizations such as those concerned with family planning.
“We do things differently… We are contractors, not politicians,” he and Ramaswamy added, noting that their terms end on July 4, 2026.
This date marks the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.
