A Wall Street Journal report has now claimed that it’s confirmed that Vivek Ramaswamy has to exit the Department of Government Efficiency because of his senior Elon Musk who did not like the fact that Vivek has an opinion on almost everything and he makes them public without holding back. The report said Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy mer for the first time in 2023 when Ramaswamt was still challenging. Their differences did not take time to emerge.
“People familiar with the situation said Trump’s inner circle of aides had become annoyed with Ramaswamy’s outspokenness on virtually any topic, a tendency that had also aggravated the Tesla and SpaceX CEO,” the WSJ report said. “There were always going to be tensions between two CEOs who have built successful companies,” said a person familiar with DOGE. “Everyone saw the writing on the wall.”
It’s ironic because Elon Musk too does not hold back while it comes to expressing his opinion on X, the platform he owns and that includes his takes on the politics of other countries as well.
Elon Musk and Vivek’s visions with DOGE clashed
The WSJ report said that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were not on the same page over what DOGE should do. Musj wanted to focus on spending cuts but Vivek Ramaswamy was more focused on cutting regulations and bureaucracy. Citing an insider, the WSJ report said that there was no fight or hard feelings between Elon Musk and Vivek but as the mandate of DOGE narrowed and shifted, there was little that Vivek could add on. And hence he took the decision to step away.
DOGE executive order was another flashpoint
Donald Trump on his first day signed an executive order that brought DOGE under the government. The entity will be called the United States DOGE Service with an administrator who will report to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. This is something that Elon Musk wanted but Vivek didn’t. And the executive order surprised many as DOGE was meant to remain outside of the government.
There was also an initial understanding that Musk and Ramaswamy would be “equal” partners but eventually Musk was regarded as the senior partner because of his seniority and his global stature and relationship with Trump.
