Did Musk Ice Out Indian-Origin Ramaswamy From Trump's Team Over a Tweet?
Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping create DOGE.
Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy opted out of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hours after Donald Trump took oath as the 47th president of the United States on Monday. Though Ramaswamy hinted at his plans to run for Ohio governor, there are multiple reports claiming tech billionaire and Trump's close favourite Elon Musk's role behind Ramawamy's exit from the panel.
Trump had selected Ramaswamy to lead the panel along with Musk.
A report in Politico, quoting three people familiar with the matter, said many Republicans were unhappy with Ramaswamy due to his recent tweet on the H-1B visa issue.
What Did Ramaswamy Say About H-1B?
During a discussion of H-1B visas, Ramaswamy criticised American culture, saying that tech companies hire foreign workers in part because of a mindset in the country that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
“They wanted him out before the tweet — but kicked him to the curb when that came out,” one of the people familiar with the matter said.
However, Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping create DOGE. The spokesperson added that Ramaswamy intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE.
"We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last two months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again,” Kelly added.
DOGE is a nongovernmental task force that Trump has assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations under his "Save America" agenda.
Ramaswamy's Praise For Musk
Earlier, Ramaswamy thanked Trump for making sure that Elon Musk and he were in "a position to start the mass deportations of millions of unelected federal bureaucrats out of the D.C. bureaucracy."
"And I don't know if you've got to know Elon yet, but he doesn't bring a chisel, he brings a chainsaw, and we're going to be taking it to that bureaucracy," Ramaswamy had said, adding that, "It's going to be a lot of fun."
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