Box CEO Aaron Levie, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, is calling on Democrats to support Elon Musk as he takes part in Donald Trump’s effort to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies” through his proposed Department of Government Efficiency.
"I don’t think there’s a better person for this particular task, let’s say, than Elon, because of how resistant the government normally would be to this type of change," Levie said Friday on POLITICO’s Tech podcast.
Musk has a track record of tackling complex problems, Levie notes, whether it’s launching commercial rockets at SpaceX or building electric cars at Tesla. Now, as co-leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has promised to make fast and deep cuts to federal programs and regulations.
Levie argues that Democrats should give Musk a chance to do it. And as the party reflects on its election loss, Levie said Democrats should celebrate Musk and other tech leaders, whose business success is not at odds with the party’s values, he said.
“Somehow they built up this animosity with Elon and I’ve never thought it made any sense,” Levie said. “It’s not only a bad political strategy — see this election — but it’s just bad for the country.” (POLITICO)
Trump announced Musk will work in conjunction with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the proposed department.
"It will become, potentially, 'The Manhattan Project' of our time," Trump said of the effort. "Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of 'DOGE' for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.
"I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans," Trump added. "Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to 'WE THE PEOPLE.' Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 - A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!"
