Vivek Ramaswamy spoke Monday night about his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency, leaving it in the hands of Elon Musk before it even gets off the ground.
Ramaswamy, 39, sat down with Fox News’ Jesse Watters and teased a future run for state office – as he’s widely expected to announce an Ohio gubernatorial bid.
Watters joked that Ramaswamy was leaving DOGE ‘after like three Scaramuccis’ and asked him what happened, as it was previously reported that Musk wanted him out. ‘Scaramuccis’ are a unit of measurement based on the extremely short, 11-day tenure of Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
‘Well, the reality is, I’m pursuing an elected office very shortly. We will have an announcement soon,’ Ramaswamy answered.
Watters then asked Ramaswamy about the rumors that he and Musk weren’t getting along.
‘I think that’s incorrect,’ Ramaswamy replied. ‘But what I would say is, we had different and complementary approaches.’
Watters also asked Ramaswamy straight up if Musk had fired him.
‘It’s – no, we had a mutual discussion,’ the 2024 Republican hopeful answered. ‘And I think I wish him well.’
Ramaswamy further explained their ‘different’ approaches.
‘I focused more on a constitutional law, legislative-based approach,’ he said. ‘They focused more on a technology approach, which is the future approach.’
‘No better person to lead that technology, digital approach than Elon Musk,’ he offered.
‘But when you’re talking about a constitutional revival, it’s not just done through the federal government, it’s done through federalism, where states also lead the way,’ he continued. ‘So I will have to be saying more on that very shortly Jesse, But that’s going to be my next stop.’
He also claimed that he and Musk were ‘on the same page.’
‘Divide and conquer,’ he explained. ‘In saving the country, it’s not a one-man show from the top down or the bottom up. It’s all of the above. And that’s what I’m for.’
Ramaswamy further teased an Ohio governor’s bid by saying he was flying back to the Buckeye State later Monday night.
‘We look at the country over the last 20 years, Silicon Valley was at the bleeding edge of the American economy. I think the Ohio River Valley can be at the bleeding edge of the American economy for the next 20 years,’ he said, readying his pitch to voters.
‘People leaving this state from New York or California, right now, they go to Florida or Texas,’ he said. ‘I think places like Ohio should be where they’re headed in the next couple of decades.’
Watters said the weather in Ohio might even improve over the next few years.
‘All right, if global warming keeps happening, it’s going to get really nice and sunny in Ohio,’ the Fox News anchor said.
Ramaswamy, if he announces, will follow Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost into the Republican primary.
They will be vying to replace the term-limited GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.
Ramaswamy ran in the 2024 GOP primary against Trump but when he fell short in the Iowa caucuses last January he quickly endorsed and campaigned for the now-president.
Without him, Musk’s DOGE has hit the ground running much like the rest of the Trump administration in the first week on the job.
DOGE has set to work removing the Chief Diversity Officers Executive Council website from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
President Trump has been highly vocal about his intention to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion offices across federal government, describing them as ‘Marxist.’
‘I will end all of the Marxist diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the entire federal government immediately,’ Trump said in December.
Now, Musk is ensuring that Trump’s vision is carried out at the highest level, with the removal of the executive council website.
Just yesterday the website described its services as the ‘principal interagency forum to implement and sustain a national strategy for DEIA across Federal government.’
But Musk’s call to wipe the website from the personnel platform indicates the entire department will be – or has already been – shuttered.
The department is also looking into stopping production of the penny to save taxpayers money.
In a post on X, the group pointed out that a penny now costs three cents to make – triple its value.
That cost taxpayers a whopping $179 million in fiscal year 2023, the post said.
DOGE has been tasked with coming up with recommendations on how to cut federal spending.
It’s unclear if it would advise permanently killing off the penny, or just halting or trimming the penny’s production.
Musk’s DOGE has been tasked with reducing government expenditure and improving productivity within the public service.
He claims it can save $1trillion – but that number has already been worked down from the initial $2trillion he promised recently.
