Indian-origin entrepreneur and Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy pulled out of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), just 69 days after being appointed co-head with Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. A report has now surfaced which indicates that it was Musk who wanted Ramaswamy to leave the team. Politico reported citing three people with Elon Musk’s preference said the billionaire made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days.
Notably, hours after Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US President, Ramaswamy announced that he would not co-head DOGE.
Musk’s ability to ice out Ramaswamy, who for a variety of reasons had irked some Republicans in Trump’s circle, is the latest sign of his influence in the incoming administration. It presages an encore of all of the infighting that marked Trump’s first term.
Ramaswamy “just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon,” said a Republican strategist close to Trump advisers. “Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of DC.”
According to the report, Ramaswamy’s comments on X during a discussion of H-1B visas were the ‘main reason’ for some Republicans’ getting frustrated with him.
What Had Ramaswamy Posted?
In December last year, the Indian-origin leader criticised American culture, saying that tech companies hire foreign workers because the country that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024
“They wanted him out before the tweet, but kicked him to the curb when that came out,” one of the three people familiar with his departure, told Politico.
Ramaswamy is planning to announce a run for Ohio Governor next week, as reported by Politico. A person close to DOGE said Musk did not think it was feasible for him to campaign for office while working on DOGE.
Meanwhile, Trump transition spokesperson Anna Kelly lauded Ramaswamy and said that he “played a critical role in helping us create DOGE” and that his plan to run for governor “requires him to remain outside of DOGE based on the structure that we announced today.”
Politico reported citing sources, said that Ramaswamy maintained to confidants as late as Saturday evening that he was actively involved in DOGE, saying he was at work writing executive orders. However, a person familiar with the arrangement informed that he had done almost no DOGE-related work since early December.
Ramaswamy has chosen not to comment on the rumoured tensions between him and Musk.
A person familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking said they are now on good terms and that “the reality is that it wasn’t possible” to run for governor and co-lead DOGE “both at once.”
Ramaswamy attended US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, where he spoke to Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff.
On Monday morning, Ramaswamy posted a photo of himself with Musk shaking hands.
“A new dawn,” he wrote.
But he was already on his way out. That same day, a person close to Ramaswamy who was granted anonymity to speak freely confirmed Ramaswamy was leaving, the Politico report stated.
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