Just hours into his second term as president, Donald Trump was left without one of his top aides and allies, creating a massive shakeup for his new administration.
Yesterday The White House announced that Vivek Ramaswamy has officially left the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a government-adjacent commission fueled by Trump to help crack down on govermnent spending and waste.
“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement.
“He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today. We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again.”
The news comes as a shock to Trump’s new administration as DOGE is widely expected to be one of the defining efforts of his second administration.
Following his election in November, Trump had tasked Musk and Ramaswamy with paving “the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Reports have ramped up over the past week that Ramaswamy was interested in holding public office, perhaps fueling his sudden departure from DOGE.
According to a RedState report, Ramaswamy has lobbied hard to be named as JD Vance’s successor in the Senate, but Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) opted instead for his own lieutenant governor, Jon Husted. Husted will serve through 2026 when a special election will be held to decide who should serve the remainder of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028.
Now, new reports say that Ramaswamy could possibly announced as early as next week, that he’ll be looking to replace DeWine in 2026. DeWine is term-limited from running again.
Running for governor would be a full time committment, so it would be difficult to hit the campaign trail while also keeping up DOGE work.
He has hinted at a possible run for governor over the past few weeks, including this exchange with South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace.
Thank you @NancyMace! https://t.co/9ymXX8RGel
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 17, 2025
There has been no formal announcement from Ramaswamy’s team about a run for governor (yet).
In the meantime, Musk will now run DOGE solo.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.