Washington, DC [US], November 13 : Following his appointment to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday for the Trump Administration, along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy has said that he will be withdrawing his nomination from the Senate appointment in Ohio.
Taking to social media platform X on Wednesday, Ramaswamy said that whoever Ohio Governor Mike DeWine picks for the position of the Senate had some "big shoes to fill" after it was left vacant by US Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was the former Senate of the state.
"And yes, this means I'm withdrawing myself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio. Whoever Governor DeWine appoints to JD's seat has some big shoes to fill. I will help them however I can," Ramaswamy said.
Earlier on Tuesday, US President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and 'X', along with Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy, would lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
"I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency ("DOGE")," Trump said in an official statement on Tuesday.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies - Essential to the "Save America" Movement. This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!," he added.
The DOGE will partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government.
Ramaswamy, who initially contested Trump in the Republican presidential primary before endorsing him in January, made cutting government waste a central focus of his campaign.
Last year, Ramaswamy--who had pledged during his campaign to dismantle agencies such as the FBI, the Department of Education, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, resulting in mass layoffs of federal employees--released a white paper detailing a legal framework that he argued would enable the president to abolish federal agencies at his discretion.
Trump in the statement further stated that DOGE's work will conclude by July 4, 2026, at the latest.
Following his victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump is moving swiftly with finalising his foreign policy and national security team ahead of his formal inauguration in January 2025.