Elon-Vivek split: Musk put spending cuts No. 1

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are famous for saying almost anything, anywhere, and at any time. So it may or may not be surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy is no longer co-leading the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Musk because he was, this article reports, too outspoken.

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.

“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.”

A frequent poster on Musk’s X platform, Ramaswamy also angered some Trump supporters and aides in late December when he let loose with a long message as part of a debate over H-1B visas, suggesting some U.S. technology companies hire foreign workers in part because U.S. culture has “venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”

This article also reports that the departure of Ramaswamy—who says he will run to be Ohio’s next governor—was rooted in policy differences:

“The split was also predicated in part by DOGE’s increasing attention on achieving spending cuts, which Musk has championed, and less of a focus on cutting regulations and bureaucracy,” which Ramaswamy favored.

It now appears that Ramaswamy was among Musk’s first cuts.

-Wall Street Journal, Real Clear Investigations

PHOTYO: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy | uniquenewsonline.com