Many Americans do not trust the federal government, and Elon Musk — an eccentric billionaire business magnate charged by newly elected President Donald Trump with helping defeat the cumbersome bureaucratic leviathan — thinks that’s exactly the right attitude.
“I don’t think we should trust the government,” Musk has previously stated.
Apparently the people are way ahead of him.
“As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do the right thing ‘almost always’ (2%) or ‘most of the time’ (21%).” Pew Research Center noted earlier this year.
GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ BY MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE Cadres AMIDST MEETINGS AT CAPITOL HILL
Elon Musk, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC; Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump tapped Musk, calling himself ‘small government crusader’ Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort that puts Washington DC’s profligate spending in the crosshairs.
“We will serve as outside volunteers, not as federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we will not only write reports or cut ribbons. We will reduce costs,” the dynamic duo stated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed from last month.
Ramaswamy appears to share similar views as Musk on public trust in government.
“The reason the people don’t trust the government is because the government doesn’t trust the people. In God we trust and the government we distrust,” Ramaswamy stated in a post on X last year.
MUSK AND RAMASWAMY VISIT CAPITOL HILL TO DISCUSS TRUMP’S DOGE VISION FOR REDUCING GOVERNMENT WASTE
Trump and Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
But to achieve their cost-cutting ambitions, Musk and Ramaswamy will have to involve government figures in their plans.
Lawmakers met with the two entrepreneurs in DC on Thursday.
THIS WAS A CHANGING ELECTION, DOGE ADDS: SEN. CORNYN
The United States Capitol is seen in Washington DC on December 2, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Under President Trump, we will blow the whistle on the administrative state and reduce the size and scope of government. Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate look forward to hosting Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy tomorrow to discuss how the Department of Government Efficiency can help us achieve this goal. finished,” Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said in a post on X on Wednesday.
