DONALD Trump has given pal Elon Musk a top position in his upcoming cabinet.
The billionaire tech tycoon will lead Trump’s newly forged Department of Government Efficiency – as “secretary of cost cutting”.
Donald Trump pictured with billionaire pal Elon Musk
Elon Musk (far right) featured in the Trump family photo on election night
Trump said in a statement on Tuesday that he will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies”.
Musk will work as co-chair of the new team alongside prominent Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
He wrote on X after the announcement: “Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be [fire emoji].”
The Tesla CEO’s proximity to Trump is set to make him one of the most powerful people on the plant.
He has been dubbed Trump’s “shadow vice president”, and went all in to support and campaign for the former president.
Musk helped fund the Republican’s election victory through his pro-Trump political action committee America PAC.
He was a regular fixture towards the end of Trump’s campaign trail and even gave out huge cash prizes to voters who signed petitions relating to Republican causes.
Trump has previously said Musk would be given a role as “secretary of cost cutting”, heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
DOGE is a reference to a popular internet meme – and a cryptocurrency tied to billionaire Musk.
The role means he could have wide-reaching powers to trim the US federal bureaucracy that he and Trump have claimed is holding America back.
The Space X founder has been a key fixture of Trump’s campaign and was pictured with his four-year-old son at the Mar-a-Lago election party.
Trump even called him in to join a family photo taken at the Palm Beach mansion.
During his victory speech he gave Musk a special thanks – telling crowds “We have a new star – a star is born, Elon [Musk]!”
He said: “He is an amazing guy, we were sitting together tonight.
“He spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning.”
The 78-year-old went on to praise Musk for his “super-genius” and described how he was in awe watching his Space X rocket return to Earth without a hitch.
“He sent the rocket up two weeks ago and I saw that rocket, I saw it coming down it was beautiful,” Trump said.
“Only Elon can do this.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
