Source: Xiao Shengke

Our company is built on the basic idea that it is run by the people we elect. But that’s not the case in America today. Most legal provisions are not laws enacted by Congress, but "rules and regulations" promulgated by unelected bureaucrats...tens of thousands of rules and regulations every year. Most law enforcement decisions and discretionary spending are made not by the elected president or even his appointees, but by the millions of non-elected, non-appointed civil servants in the agency who believe that because of the protections of the civil service, You won't get fired yourself.

This approach is anti-democratic and runs counter to the vision of the Founding Fathers. It imposes huge direct and indirect costs on taxpayers. Thankfully, we have a historic opportunity to address this issue. On November 5, voters decisively elected Trump and empowered him to make the sweeping changes they (taxpayers) deserve.

President Trump asked the two of us to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE – also known as the Office of Efficiency) to reduce the size of the federal government. An entrenched and swelling bureaucracy poses an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have long tolerated it. That's why we have to find another way. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We are outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike a committee or advisory board, we don't just write reports or cut ribbons. We will cut costs.

We are assisting the Trump transition team in identifying and hiring a crack team of small reform warriors, including some of the sharpest technical and legal talent in the country. The team will work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget in the new effort. The two of us will advise the Office of Efficiency every step of the way to pursue three broad categories of reforms: deregulation, administrative reduction and cost savings. We will place a particular focus on driving reform through executive action based on existing legislation rather than through the enactment of new laws. Our north star for reform will be the U.S. Constitution, focusing on two important Supreme Court decisions during Biden’s term.

In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (2022), the justices held that agencies cannot enforce regulations involving economically or problematically important matters unless expressly authorized by Congress. In Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024), the court overturned the Chevron doctrine, holding that federal courts should no longer defer to federal agencies’ interpretation of the law or their own rules enactment power. Together, these cases demonstrate that numerous existing federal regulations exceed the authority granted by Congress under the law.

The Office of Efficiency will work with agency legal experts and, with the help of advanced technology, apply these rulings to the federal regulations established by those agencies. Office of Efficiency will submit to President TrumpThis is a list of regulations that President Trump can immediately suspend through executive action and initiate a review and repeal process. This would free individuals and businesses from illegal regulations that Congress never passed and stimulate the U.S. economy.

When the president invalidates thousands of such regulations, critics accuse the administration of overreach. In fact, it is correcting executive overreach, whereby thousands of regulations promulgated by executive order never received congressional authorization. The president should defer to Congress when it comes to legislation, not to bureaucrats within federal agencies. Using executive orders to add burdensome new rules in lieu of legislation is an affront to the Constitution, but using executive orders to repeal regulations that mistakenly bypass Congress is legal and necessary to comply with the Supreme Court's recent mandate. And, after these regulations have been repealed entirely, a future president cannot simply flip a switch and reinstate them, but must ask Congress to do so.

Severe cuts in federal regulations provide a sound industry logic for massive layoffs throughout the federal bureaucracy. The Office of Efficiency intends to work with each agency's appointees to determine the minimum number of employees required by an agency to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutory functions. Cuts to the number of federal employees should be at least proportional to the number of federal regulations that are repealed: not only will fewer employees be needed to enforce fewer regulations, but the agency will also be able to create fewer regulations once the scope of its authority is appropriately limited. Employees whose positions have been eliminated deserve to be treated with respect, and the Office of Efficiency’s goal is to help them transition into the private sector. The president can use existing laws to encourage them to retire early and pay voluntary severance pay to facilitate their dignified departure.

Conventional wisdom holds that statutory civil service protections prevent the president or even his appointees from firing federal workers. These protections are designed to protect employees from retaliation. But the regulations allow for “layoffs” that do not target specific employees. The statute further authorizes the President to make rules governing competitive services. This power is very broad. Previous presidents have used this power to change civil service rules through executive orders, and the Supreme Court ruled in Franklin v. Massachusetts (1992) and Collins v. Yellen (2021) that when they did so, they were not subject to Administrative Procedure. restrictions of the Act. With this authority, President Trump can impose a variety of "rules governing competitive services," ranging from mass layoffs to moving federal agencies out of the Washington area, thereby curbing executive agency overbloat. We welcome the fact that requiring federal employees to come into the office five days a week will result in a wave of voluntary separations: American taxpayers should not be paying federal employees for the privilege of staying home in the coronavirus era if they don’t want to come to work.

Finally, we are committed to saving taxpayers money. Skeptics question how much federal spending the Office of Efficiency can control through administrative means alone. They point to the Appropriations Control Act of 1974 that prevents the president from halting spending authorized by Congress. President Trump has previously stated that the bill is unconstitutional, and we believe that in this issueOn this issue, the current Supreme Court is likely to support his view. But even without relying on that view, the Office of Efficiency will help end federal overspending by targeting the more than $500 billion in annual federal spending that Congress did not authorize or that is used in ways that Congress never intended. From $535 million to broadcasters and $1.5 billion in grants to international organizations, to nearly $300 million allocated to progressive groups such as Planned Parenthood.

The federal procurement process also has serious flaws. Many federal contracts have gone unreviewed for years. Conducting a large-scale audit during a temporary moratorium on payments can save significant amounts of money. The Pentagon recently failed its seventh consecutive audit, demonstrating that the agency's leadership has little idea how its more than $800 billion annual budget is spent. Critics claim we cannot effectively and meaningfully close the federal deficit without targeting entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid that require congressional cuts. However, this diverts attention from the waste, fraud, and abuse that nearly all taxpayers want to end, and the Office of Efficiency aims to deliver immediate savings to taxpayers by identifying precise administrative actions to address these issues.

With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, the Office of Efficiency has a historic opportunity to make structural cuts to the federal government. We are ready for the onslaught of entrenched interests in Washington. We expect to win. Now is the time for decisive action. Our overarching goal for the Office of Efficiency is to eliminate the need for its existence by July 4, 2026...the deadline we set for the project... On our nation's 250th anniversary, there is no better birthday gift than creating a Union that our Founding Fathers would be proud of.

The following is the plan of the "DOGE Reform Plan" published by Musk and Vivek in the "Wall Street Journal" on November 20, 2024. Key Points:

Basic Idea: America should be run by elected officials, not unelected bureaucrats. The current system, in which bureaucrats make most decisions, is considered undemocratic and contrary to the vision of the Founders.

Purpose of the Panel:

To undo the regulation: Using recent Supreme Court decisions (West Virginia v. EPA and Loper. Bright v. Raimondo), they It aims to repeal regulations that are not expressly authorized by Congress, reduce regulatory burdens, and stimulate economic activity.

Administrative Reductions:

Determine the minimum staffing required by each agency to operate within its statutory mandate.

Promote the transition of federal employees to the private sector by encouraging early retirement or separation.

Cost Savings:

Targeting unauthorized federal spending.

Reform procurement processes through auditing to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, especially at agencies like the Pentagon.

Legal framework for reform:

Taking administrative action based on existing laws rather than enacting new laws.

Use executive orders to revoke regulations that have not been passed by Congress.

Use the power of the president to amend civil service rules to reduce personnel.

Implementation:

The Office of Effectiveness is not a federal agency but an advisory body outside of traditional structures.

The team will include technical and legal experts to ensure actions comply with constitutional and legal standards.

Timetable and Goals: Aim to complete reforms by the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, with the ultimate goal of increasing efficiency so that offices are no longer needed.

Challenges and Opposition: Anticipate resistance from entrenched bureaucratic interest groups, but believe they can succeed with current political and judicial support.

The plan reflects a significant reform approach aimed at reducing size and improving efficiency through structural changes through legal interpretation and administrative action.

On January 20, 2025, the United States will usher in a new dawn! Vivek recently spoke at the "America First" symposium, saying that "America First" points out the direction not only for the next four years, but also for the next 250 years. President Trump’s victory on November 5 is not the end, but the starting line for this revival. Over the past four years we have been taught to believe that we have become a "decline" and that we are at the "end of the Roman Empire."

I think we are back in an upward phase, and our best days are actually yet to come. On January 20, 2025, the United States will usher in a morning, the beginning of a new dawn.

Musk and he are ready to make drastic cuts in the Washington bureaucracy. If you don’t reach your goal, you will continue to struggle!

Trump, Kay (Trump’s eldest granddaughter) and Musk watched the satellite launch at SpaceX on 11/19

This is the first time in history that the President of the United States attended the launch ceremony of the SpaceX Starship.

Musk: "I don't want pay, I don't want awards, I don't want commendations or fancy titles. I just want the United States to reach greater heights."

The work of Musk and Vivek is to return power to elected officials instead of unelected bureaucrats, cut red tape, streamline the workforce, and save taxpayers' money. It is good for the United States and makes the United States Great concrete action again.

This plan and implementation will definitely bring joy to some and sorrow to others, but it will be great for the vast majority - tens of millions of American taxpayers!

According to reports, if the negotiations are led by Trump, Putin is willing to engage in ceasefire discussions with Ukraine.