Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Elon Musk, the richest person on the planet, and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an effort to improve government efficiency.
The president-elect said they will lead the "Department of Government Efficiency,” though a new federal agency cannot be created without an act of Congress. It’s unclear precisely how the so-called agency will function, but Trump said it will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government.”
The move raises immediate questions about conflicts of interests, particularly given the billions Musk’s companies receive in the form of lucrative government contracts. Musk’s companies have also recently been targeted by the federal government in at least 20 separate investigations or lawsuits.
We’ll be watching to see how this efficiency department takes shape, and whether there is any major pushback on Capitol Hill.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer is returning to your screens this week, kicking off Season 9 in a summer of sweltering global tensions. The United States is celebrating its 250th birthday, a war has reshaped the Middle East, AI is forcing humanity to confront profound ethical choices, and democracies around the world are bracing for what comes next. Host Ian Bremmer is here to make sense of it all.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Bank of America is investing in the legacy of leadership — committing $5M to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and conserving 110 presidential portraits at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, so the history of leaders who defined our nation is preserved for generations to come. Learn more here.
In his latest “ask ian,” Ian Bremmer says the US and China should use their growing engagement to address two major global challenges where cooperation could have an outsized impact: the war in Ukraine and the risks posed by artificial intelligence.
The trade bloc is also reducing its quota of tariff-free steel imports, as trade tensions mount with Beijing.