Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has a clear path to the GOP nomination for Ohio governor after the state&#8217;s attorney general, Dave Yost, announced on Friday that he is suspending his short-lived campaign.
Yost said his chances went from a &#8220;steep climb&#8221; to &#8220;a vertical cliff&#8221; after the Ohio GOP threw its support behind Ramaswamy last week for the 2026 race, The Columbus Dispatch <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/16/dave-yost-drops-out-of-ohio-governors-race/80306921007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;I do not wish to divide my political party or my state with a quixotic battle over the small differences between my vision and that of my opponent. I am simply not that important,&#8221; Yost <a href="https://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-ohio/ag-dave-yost-suspends-his-campaign-to-be-ohios-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
President Donald Trump backed Ramaswamy&#8217;s bid immediately after the tech entrepreneur launched his campaign in February. Ramaswamy was initially set to work in the Trump administration alongside Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, but it was revealed on Inauguration Day that he would not serve in that role.
Yost said he wants Republicans to focus on defeating Democrats instead of a &#8220;family squabble.&#8221;
&#8220;Columbus needs re-engineering, not demolition,&#8221; Yost wrote in a letter to his supporters. &#8220;Sherrod Brown and the risky progressive ideas of his party will unwind all of the good that the last 15 years of Republican leadership has brought. This is a time to protect Ohio, not a time for a family squabble.&#8221;
Ramaswamy praised Yost in a statement and said that the attorney general will continue to play a role in the state&#8217;s political future.
&#8220;Congratulations to Dave on running a thoughtful campaign,&#8221; Ramaswamy said. &#8220;He has served Ohio with great dedication, and I am confident he will continue to play an important role in shaping the future of our state and our nation.&#8221;
While the Ohio GOP rallies behind Ramaswamy, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel — the former Ohio State football coach — said last week that he is considering jumping into the race, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ohio-lt-gov-jim-tressel-confirms-considering-run-governor-rcna205734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Tressel was tapped by current Republcian Gov. Mike DeWine to become lieutenant governor after Jim Husted was appointed to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Vice President JD Vance.
“What has been a surprise, and it has been humbling, is how many people are encouraging me to run for Governor,” Tressel said.
“I have not decided yet, but when I became Lieutenant Governor in February, Ellen told me that it seemed like God had more work for me to do, and she was right,&#8221; he added, referring to his wife. &#8220;While I have not ruled out a run for Governor — and there will be a time in the future for those conversations — for now, I will remain focused on helping Ohioans get off the sidelines and into our workforce so they can reach their full potential.&#8221;
In the GOP primary, Ramaswamy&#8217;s only declared opponent is Heather Hill, the former president of the Morgan County, Ohio, School Board, who is running a longshot bid.
On the Democratic side, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton, is the only candidate who has jumped into the race. Along with former Sen. Brown, former U.S. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan has <a href="https://www.wosu.org/2025-05-15/democrat-tim-ryan-says-hell-decide-this-summer-if-hell-run-for-ohio-governor-next-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed interest</a> in running for Ohio governor.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ohio AG Drops Out Of Governor’s Race, Giving Vivek Ramaswamy Clear Path To GOP Nomination

2026 Midterms

Donald Trump

Elections

governor

Ohio

Politics

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 cycle, entered the 2026 race for the Ohio governorship on Monday evening.
The 39-year-old supporter of President Donald Trump formally announced his campaign during a rally in West Chester Township, a suburb of his hometown Cincinnati, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/us/politics/vivek-ramaswamy-ohio-governor-announcement.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
Trump &#8220;is reviving our conviction in America. We require a leader here at home who will revive our conviction in Ohio,&#8221; Ramaswamy said during his speech at CTL Aerospace before declaring his candidacy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I am honored to officially announce my candidacy to serve as the next Governor of Ohio. <a href="https://t.co/HFIR3dLspe">pic.twitter.com/HFIR3dLspe</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1894160928502858201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I will lead Ohio to be the top state in the country where patriots across America actually flock to, instead of Florida and Texas,&#8221; Ramaswamy said later. &#8220;I will lead Ohio to be the state of excellence in America.&#8221;
Ramaswamy ran in the 2024 race for the White House before dropping out and endorsing Trump. He was said to be under consideration in the veepstakes, but Trump went with then-Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).
Trump later picked Ramaswamy to help Elon Musk lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, on Inauguration Day, it was revealed Ramaswamy would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ramaswamy-to-leave-doge-ahead-of-run-for-ohio-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no longer serve</a> in the endeavor.
Ramaswamy also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ramaswamy-says-he-would-strongly-consider-replacing-vance-as-senator-if-asked" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Wire he would consider replacing Vance as senator if asked. That did not come to pass as Republican Governor Mike DeWine chose Jon Husted, the lieutenant governor, instead.
After Ramaswamy made his campaign for governor official, Trump endorsed him, saying on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114062254652077484" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truth Social</a>, &#8220;I know him well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL. He’s Young, Strong, and Smart!&#8221;
Trump went on to say, &#8220;Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!&#8221;
DeWine is term-limited and cannot run again. Others who have declared their candidacy include Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on the GOP side and former Ohio health director Amy Acton for the Democrats.
Former college football coach and recently-appointed Republican Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, ex-Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are among those who may also jump into the race.

Vivek Ramaswamy Enters Race For Ohio Governor, Gets Trump’s Endorsement

JD Vance

Mike DeWine

Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly quitting his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ahead of an expected run for governor of Ohio.
Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2024, was slated to head DOGE alongside tech magnate Elon Musk. Originally the brainchild of Musk, DOGE is to serve as an outside advisory group to the White House on cutting government waste.
Ramaswamy has yet to make a public announcement about either DOGE or a gubernatorial run, though he plans to announce his bid for Ohio governor next week, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/ramaswamy-doge-ohio-governor-00199276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a>. Last week, Ramaswamy shared a post on X from a parody account floating a Ramaswamy gubernatorial bid, calling it “not a bad idea.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Note &#8211; the below is a parody account.
(Not a bad idea, though) <a href="https://t.co/b0V3cSHAsh">https://t.co/b0V3cSHAsh</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1880372687647961361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On Monday, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, Ramaswamy posted a photo of him and Musk, the two heads of DOGE, celebrating “a new dawn.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A new dawn. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/a3Vthjth69">pic.twitter.com/a3Vthjth69</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1881360107956793647?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The rumors about Ramaswamy’s candidacy come after he met with Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine earlier this month about potentially filling Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat. DeWine passed over Ramaswamy in favor of his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted. Husted’s appointment clears a significant hurdle for Ramaswamy in a potential run for Ohio’s governor.
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DeWine is term-limited and set to leave office in 2027, setting up a competitive Republican primary for his governor’s seat in 2026.
In his press conference announcing his pick to fill Vance’s seat, DeWine predicted that both the Ohio governor’s race and U.S. Senate race, a special election for which is scheduled for 2026, would be competitive.
“I seriously doubt that it will avoid a contentious race for governor,” DeWine <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/us/politics/dewine-names-lt-gov-jon-husted-to-fill-jd-vances-senate-seat.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Just stay tuned. You’re going to see how many people, you know, say that they’re running in both parties.”
Ramaswamy is a relatively new face to politics and has yet to hold public office. His first attempt was a short-lived presidential bid in the 2024 Republican primary. After suspending his campaign, he endorsed Trump and became an outspoken ally for him to retake the White House.

Ramaswamy To Leave DOGE Ahead Of Run For Ohio Governor

Report: Ramaswamy To Leave DOGE Ahead Of Run For Ohio Governor

Elon Musk

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine selected Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Friday to fill the Senate seat left open by Vice President-elect JD Vance, while Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly planning on announcing a run for governor.
DeWine announced his Senate appointment at a press conference on Friday, ensuring that Republicans maintain a 53-47 majority when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Monday. Husted, a longtime major player in Ohio politics, recently focused on election security as lieutenant governor. The appointment will put Husted in the Senate seat for nearly three years, and he will have the option to run in the 2026 special election to determine who will complete Vance&#8217;s term, which ends after 2028.
“I believe and know that Jon is prepared to be United States senator from the state of Ohio,” DeWine said, according to <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/17/mike-dewine-to-pick-jon-husted-to-fill-jd-vances-ohio-senate-seat/77483035007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Columbus Dispatch</a>. “The U.S. Senate rewards hard workers. It rewards those who master the facts. It rewards those who focus on getting things done.”
DeWine met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, and Trump was reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reportedly-urges-vivek-ramaswamy-to-fill-open-ohio-senate-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urging</a> Ramaswamy to accept the Senate seat if it was offered to him. DeWine told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, &#8220;I want someone who understands Ohio, who has a deep knowledge of our state. We need a strong advocate there.&#8221;
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The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/17/vivek-ramaswamy-ohio-governor-run/">reported</a>, citing two unnamed sources, that Ramaswamy, whom Trump tapped to help Elon Musk run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is planning to run for Ohio governor in 2026. According to one Ohio political operative, Ramaswamy will plan &#8220;to get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly.&#8221; Ramaswamy and Musk have said that DOGE will seek to accomplish its goals and dissolve by July 4, 2026.
Ohio&#8217;s 2026 governor&#8217;s race will be wide open, as DeWine is term-limited. Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur from Cincinnati, would enter the race with experience running a large campaign after his 2024 presidential bid. However, he has never held public office. Last January, he dropped out of the 2024 primary and endorsed Trump.

Mike DeWine, Jon Husted

DeWine Picks Jon Husted For Senate, Ramaswamy Reportedly To Run For Governor

Congress

Senate

U.S. Senate

President-elect Donald Trump wants entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to fill the Senate seat left open by Vice President-elect JD Vance, according to a report published Wednesday by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/15/vivek-ramaswamy-ohio-senate-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>.
The Post cited &#8220;two people with knowledge of the matter&#8221; who said that Trump encouraged Ramaswamy to take the job in the Senate if Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine offers it to him. Ramaswamy is also reportedly discussing the position with GOP leaders. Vance&#8217;s resignation from the Senate was made official last Friday, and now, DeWine has the responsibility to appoint a replacement until a special election is held in 2026.
After Trump&#8217;s 2024 election victory, Ramaswamy was tapped by the president-elect to run the Department of Government Efficiency alongside billionaire Elon Musk. Following his appointment to DOGE, Ramaswamy <a href="https://x.com/vivekgramaswamy/status/1856514211783794844?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he was &#8220;withdrawing&#8221; himself &#8220;from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio.&#8221;
Since DOGE is not an official government agency, it&#8217;s unclear if Ramaswamy would continue to help lead DOGE if he is tapped to replace Vance in the Senate.
DeWine met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week and told reporters that he will make a final decision on the Senate seat in the coming days, “I’ll have an announcement probably next week.&#8221;
&#8220;I want someone who understands Ohio, who has a deep knowledge of our state. We need a strong advocate there,&#8221; the governor added.
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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-who-could-replace-jd-vance-in-the-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Multiple contenders</a> for the open Senate seat have been floated, including Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio Lieutenant Gov. Jon Husted, and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, among others. Ramaswamy, a native of Cincinnati, has also reportedly considered running for Ohio governor in 2026. Musk and Ramaswamy have said that they hope to end DOGE by July 4, 2026, after accomplishing all of its goals to cut government waste.
Both Musk and Ramaswamy have been criticized in recent weeks by some of Trump&#8217;s supporters for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reason-im-in-america-elon-and-other-trump-allies-battle-it-out-over-foreign-worker-visa-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supporting</a> the H-1B foreign worker visa program. A long debate over the visas was started by an X post from Ramaswamy, who argued that American culture “has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
Trump also commented on the debate, siding with Musk and Ramaswamy. &#8220;I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,&#8221; he told the New York Post. &#8220;I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.&#8221;

Trump Reportedly Urges Vivek Ramaswamy To Fill Open Ohio Senate Seat

Trump Urges Vivek Ramaswamy To Fill Open Ohio Senate Seat: Report

As we prepare to enter the new year, we’re taking you back to some of The Daily Wire’s best reporting from 2024. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-elon-musks-department-of-government-efficiency-will-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on November 16.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort to trim the fat under which the federal government labors — namely, a sprawling bureaucracy and runaway government spending.
Musk spawned the idea for the department and offered to head it up during an X space with Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/technology/trump-musk-x-spaces-interview.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back</a> in August. Following his election victory, Trump made DOGE official, <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1856658569124262092" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> in a statement that it will “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies” and give government an “entrepreneurial approach.”
“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump said.
The new department has already sparked endless memes — the DOGE acronym is a nod to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Musk is a fan, and briefly changed X’s logo to the coin’s dog meme last year. Another meme making the rounds shows Musk and Ramaswamy as the downsizing consultants from the movie “Office Space,” who famously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4OvQIGDg4I&amp;t=2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ask</a> an employee, “What would you say you do here?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bureaucrats beware 😎 <a href="https://t.co/zfSRjttv2s">pic.twitter.com/zfSRjttv2s</a>
— Fight With Memes (@fightwithmemes) <a href="https://twitter.com/fightwithmemes/status/1856660639357252051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
Despite its name, DOGE will actually function as a commission outside the government that will work with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to advise the president on what government bloat can be cut.
DOGE will operate on a deadline. It will finish its work by July 4, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday, Trump said.
Musk is ready to go.
Since Trump&#8217;s announcement, the SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO has been excitedly posting about how he will approach slashing federal waste, but he is also promising to be “very open and transparent” about what DOGE does.
One of his main targets: regulation.
“The world is suffering slow strangulation by overregulation. Every year, the noose tightens a little more,” Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1856729913148989710">posted</a>. “We finally have a mandate to delete the mountain of choking regulations that do not serve the greater good.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-monkeys-barbie-fraud-heres-some-of-the-government-waste-doge-could-target">Read More: Transgender Monkeys And Barbie Fraud: Here’s Some Of The Government Waste DOGE Could Target</a>
He wants a broad review of regulations to determine “which ones are sensible and which ones are not.”
Musk has personally experienced crippling regulation while trying to launch SpaceX rockets. In October, he sued California regulators and accused them of “shamelessly breaking the law” after they <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shamelessly-breaking-the-law-elon-musk-blasts-california-officials-denying-spacex-launches">cited</a> his political views in their decision to reject more rocket launches.
He also wants to shutter hundreds of the more than 400 federal departments. During an interview last month, Musk pointed out that the United States creates more than one federal agency a year on average.
“That seems a lot. That seems crazy. I think we should be able to get away with 99 agencies,” Musk <a href="https://x.com/cb_doge/status/1856531980034187642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Elon Musk explains the importance of creating the Department of Government Efficiency.
&#8220;There are around 428 federal agencies. There&#8217;s so many that people have never even heard of. I think we should be able to get away with 99 agencies.&#8221;
<a href="https://t.co/QIdTmHWQLj">pic.twitter.com/QIdTmHWQLj</a>
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) <a href="https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1856531980034187642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ELON ON D.O.G.E. “We&#8217;re going to make the spending lower. And if somebody&#8217;s got a better idea for how to make the spending lower, tell us. But if we don&#8217;t, we&#8217;re going to bankrupt the country.”
<a href="https://t.co/FxCLE5t8RX">pic.twitter.com/FxCLE5t8RX</a>
— America (@america) <a href="https://twitter.com/america/status/1856707967120191709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
Lowering spending is Musk’s other big objective.
“We’re going to make the spending lower, and if somebody’s got a better idea for how to make the spending lower tell us, but if we don’t we’re going to bankrupt the country, and so we’ve got to do something, and it’s got to be some pretty big moves,” Musk said during a town hall in Pennsylvania last month.
“Drain the swamps. There’s so many swamps,” he added.
He joked that he will probably need “quite a significant security team because someone might literally go postal on me — from the Post Office.”
Ramaswamy wants to take a similarly aggressive approach. The tech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate said that DOGE would soon begin “crowdsourcing examples” of government waste, fraud, and abuse.
“Americans voted for drastic government reform &amp; they deserve to be part of fixing it,” Ramaswamy <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1856538974384255206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>.
Ramaswamy also said he wants to sort out the <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/government-waste-inefficiency-trump-doge/#:~:text=Congressional%20funding%20for%20expired%20programs,had%20expired%20under%20federal%20law." target="_blank" rel="noopener">more</a> than half a trillion dollars a year that goes towards nearly 500 expired federal programs.
“This is totally nuts. We can &amp; should save hundreds of billions each year by defunding government programs that Congress no longer authorizes. We’ll challenge any politician who disagrees to defend the other side,” he <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1856763732363546813" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
In September, Ramaswamy floated a “thought experiment” about firing 75% of federal employees immediately with “some metric of screening for those who actually had both the greatest competence as well as the greatest commitment and knowledge of the Constitution.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Vivek’s “thought experiment” of cutting 75% of federal govt employees while avoiding lawsuits of unlawful termination due to discrimination. 
<a href="https://t.co/FWgvcBeATm">pic.twitter.com/FWgvcBeATm</a>
— Steve Hou (@stevehouf) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevehouf/status/1856552726680748450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
“Not a thing will have changed for the ordinary American other than the size of their government being a lot smaller and more restrained, spending a lot less money to operate it,” Ramaswamy said during a podcast interview. “All we require is leadership with a spine to get in there and actually do what conservative presidents have maybe gestured towards and talked about but not really effectuated ever in modern history.”
Ramaswamy <a href="https://x.com/stevehouf/status/1856552726680748450?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> government agencies are “no different” from private companies in that “it’s 25% of the people who do 80 or 90% of the useful work.”
When Musk took over X, he laid off about 80% company’s workforce, more than 6,000 people.
While the decision was “not fun at all,” Musk <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/tech/elon-musk-bbc-interview-twitter-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> “drastic action” was necessary because the company was facing “a $3 billion negative cash flow situation” and had just “four months to live.”
DOGE is already recruiting employees, and Musk and Ramaswamy will personally review the top 1% of applicants.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators,” the new official DOGE account <a href="https://x.com/DOGE/status/1857076831104434289" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on November 14. “We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.”
Musk and Ramaswamy have their work cut out for them. The federal government spends $6.75 trillion a year. Already this year, federal spending has <a href="https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20spends%20money,)%2C%20resulting%20in%20a%20deficit." target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> by $114 billion. Within that massive amount is a seemingly never-ending list of eyebrow-raising expenditures.
Around $900 billion in wasted taxpayer dollars were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barbie-fraud-meth-monkeys-rand-pauls-annual-festivus-report-shows-900-billion-in-government-waste" target="_blank" rel="noopener">counted</a> last year in Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “Festivus Report,” his annual tally of government waste that highlights glaring and often humorous examples.
Among the bigger expenses: in fiscal year 2023, the Treasury spent $659 billion on just the interest on the national debt, much of which was borrowed from China, the report noted. Taxpayers are paying to keep the lights on in federal office buildings, the majority of which are mostly empty, one report <a href="https://perry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402694#:~:text=Federal%20government%20agencies%20are%20using,mountain%20of%20unused%20office%20space." target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a>.

Elon Musk, Donald Trump

How Elon Musk’s DOGE Will Work

Trump Administration

Billionaire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> joined in on heated debate over the H-1B visa immigration program this week, saying that some tech companies have to outsource skilled positions and arguing that the H-1B program makes America stronger.
His position pitted him against many conservative commentators who came out against the position, arguing that the H-1B program prioritizes foreigners over skilled Americans, brings down wages, and actually hurts innovation.
Musk said that U.S. companies, such as Apple, are being <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1872349959875690709" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced</a> to outsource skilled positions because the &#8220;expertise they need simply does not exist in America in sufficient quantity.&#8221;
&#8220;The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,&#8221; Musk posted to X on Saturday, before <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odd8Zdhuj9o">busting out a quote</a> from the comedy Tropic Thunder. &#8220;Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.
Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1872860577057448306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
In another post, Musk endorsed a position posited by CNN contributor Scott Jennings, who said the program needs to be overhauled to stop companies from using it for cheap labor, while instead using the program to recruit the top .01% from other nations.
&#8220;If you&#8217;re using the H-1B program to abuse it, to recruit interns, accountants who could easily be recruited in the USA, because you want to do it cheaper? That&#8217;s not fine,&#8221; Jennings said. &#8220;What a lot of people in the party want to do is eliminate the fraud in this H-1B program, retain the top engineering talent; there&#8217;s a way to do this.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JUST IN: Scott Jennings brings together the Elon Musk and &#8216;America worker First&#8217; factions of the H-1B visa debate to a common resolution.
What are your thoughts on his proposal? 👇
&#8220;There&#8217;s always been a push and pull on this in the GOP &#8211; there&#8217;s a way to work this out.&#8221;
&#8220;You… <a href="https://t.co/184INmadoo">pic.twitter.com/184INmadoo</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1872796793789886513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
The debate all started when, in a post centered around 90s sitcom references, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued that companies are forced to hire skilled foreigners because, in part, the American culture &#8220;has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.&#8221;
&#8220;A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;A culture that venerates Cory from &#8216;Boy Meets World,&#8217; or Zach &amp; Slater over Screech in &#8216;Saved by the Bell,&#8217; or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in &#8216;Family Matters,&#8217; will not produce the best engineers.&#8221; 
Ramaswamy said American culture needs to change to once again prioritize &#8220;achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.&#8221; 
&#8220;That’s the work we have cut out for us, rather than wallowing in victimhood &amp; just wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I’m confident we can do it,&#8221; he added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born &amp; first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy &amp; wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers &amp; if…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1872312139945234507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
The post went viral, generating more than 96 million views and more than 46,000 comments. Many noted their impressive resumes and test scores while claiming they have been overlooked for work in the tech industry, rebutting Ramaswamy.
Nikki Haley, who formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, replied, &#8220;There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers. <a href="https://t.co/fIGr45C3LD">https://t.co/fIGr45C3LD</a>
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1872344248915554712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a">
Eric Weinstein, who earned a PhD in mathematical physics from Harvard, argued strongly against the H-1B visa program. Weinstein said the program effectively displaces America&#8217;s &#8220;great&#8221; minds and talent for foreign talent. He also said the outcome, for one thing, creates &#8220;pliant&#8221; employees, which hurts America overall.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Word to the wise: It is designed to tear good people apart.
Don&#8217;t fall for it: <a href="https://t.co/JHnSRfWcwC">https://t.co/JHnSRfWcwC</a>
— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1872305048228872312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
</div>
Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton posted on X, &#8220;Vivek and Elon are wrong. We do not need to bring in more immigrants via H-1B. We need to focus on domestic skill development! Let’s educate our own people for those jobs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Vivek and Elon are wrong. We do not need to bring in more immigrants via H-1B. We need to focus on domestic skill development! Let’s educate our own people for those jobs. <a href="https://t.co/idAKW499SK">pic.twitter.com/idAKW499SK</a>
— Shermichael Singleton (@MrShermichael) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrShermichael/status/1872469847864676493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
Others highlighted President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s past position on the program, which was articulated in 2016.
<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a">
&#8220;The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/donald-j-trump-position-on-visasmegyn-kelly-asked-about-highly-skilled-immigrati/10156715268505725/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time. &#8220;I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements.&#8221;
&#8220;I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions,&#8221; he added.
But Trump on Saturday said he now supports the visa program. &#8220;I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/28/us-news/donald-trump-backs-h-1b-visa-program-supported-by-elon-musk/">New York Post</a>. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.&#8221;
</div>
Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing waded into the debate, noting that the U.S. immigration system has been &#8220;weaponized to destroy our culture and national identity for decades.&#8221; He said the entire system needs to be fixed before the country can have a healthy debate over how to best design a foreign worker visa program.
&#8220;Our immigration system has been weaponized to destroy our culture and national identity for decades,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Immigration has also been fundamental to our national character and history, and high-skilled immigration (which represents only a tiny fraction of total immigration) is a great tool for maintaining technological and economic hegemony.&#8221;
&#8220;But until the system stops being weaponized against us, people will continue to become more radical on the issue,&#8221; Boreing continued. &#8220;Elon and Vivek et al are making a mistake defending h1bs at the moment, not because they are wrong on the merits, but because they are wrong on the politics. You can’t win a philosophical argument on this topic when the country is being overrun.&#8221;
&#8220;Solve the existential problem and people will be in a better mood to have nuanced discussions about what a proper immigration policy should look like,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Not the right-wing socialist Bernie Bro types or groyper racists, of course. They will never care about nuance. But everyone else. That’s what this moment requires.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our immigration system has been weaponized to destroy our culture and national identity for decades.
Immigration has also been fundamental to our national character and history, and high-skilled immigration (which represents only a tiny fraction of total immigration) is a…
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyDBoreing/status/1873017895824826835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2024</a></blockquote>

Republican Presidential Nominee Former President Trump Holds Rally In Butler, Pennsylvania

‘Reason I’m In America’: Elon And Other Trump Allies Battle It Out Over Foreign Worker Visa Program

Conservatives Criticize H-1B Visa Immigration Program Following Elon, Vivek Comments

Economy

Immigration

Jeremy Boreing

U.S.

As we prepare to enter the new year, we&#8217;re taking you back to some of The Daily Wire&#8217;s best reporting from 2024. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-monkeys-barbie-fraud-heres-some-of-the-government-waste-doge-could-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on November 16.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have their work cut out for them.
The pair is heading up the meme-worthy Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), part of President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to slash the federal bureaucracy and runaway spending.
Both entrepreneurs have said they’ll take an aggressive approach with the project, and there is no shortage of places they could start.
The government spends $6.75 trillion a year. Already this year, federal spending has <a href="https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20spends%20money,)%2C%20resulting%20in%20a%20deficit." target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> by $114 billion. Within that massive amount is a seemingly never-ending list of eyebrow-raising expenditures.
Around $900 billion in wasted taxpayer dollars were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barbie-fraud-meth-monkeys-rand-pauls-annual-festivus-report-shows-900-billion-in-government-waste" target="_blank" rel="noopener">counted</a> last year in Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “Festivus Report,” his annual tally of government waste that highlights glaring and often humorous examples.
Among the bigger expenses, in fiscal year 2023, the Treasury spent $659 billion on just the interest on the national debt, much of that borrowed from China, the report noted.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) spent $200 million on pandemic support to “small business” artists that ended up including big names like Usher, Nickelback, Post Malone, Chris Brown, Smashing Pumpkins, and Lil Wayne, the report said.
Also, fraudsters used the faces of Barbie dolls as profile pictures to apply for the SBA’s pandemic Paycheck Protection Program, and the program “carelessly approved” the fraudsters and sent them money, the report said.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">50% OFF ALL DAILY WIRE ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS FOR A LIMITED TIME!</a>
Another money pit was multiple frivolous National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies involving monkeys.
The NIH paid a local company $33.2 million to care for about 3,000 monkeys on a South Carolina island before they are sent to research labs around the country, the report said.
The NIH also approved funding for researchers to study the sleep habits of monkeys who were given meth in the morning, according to the report.
Another monkey example involved a study focusing on trans-identifying men and HIV. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) spent more than $477,000 on the <a href="https://reporter.nih.gov/search/_yAOVXcZU0aslyTAXPTPVQ/project-details/10307630" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, which gave male monkeys female hormones to examine how cross-sex hormones might affect the immune systems of trans-identifying men when it comes to HIV.
In another outlandish example, the NIH approved a grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, the report said.
The NIH also funded a $3.8 million study on “COVID-19 misinformation exposure on social media among Black and Rural communities,” the report said.
The U.S. also spent taxpayer dollars boosting tourism in Egypt. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) approved $6 million for this purpose, according to the report.
The Biden administration spent a whopping $236 billion on “improper payments” — payments made to the wrong person, in the wrong amount or for the wrong reason, the report said.
The Department of Agriculture spent taxpayer dollars on “cutting- edge” research that measured the rectal temperatures of 16 dogs and found that their fur color did not affect their body temperatures after a hot summer walk, the report said.
On the military side, the Department of Defense destroyed more than $169 million of military equipment simply by leaving it outside, the report said. The Air Force also massively overpaid for soap dispensers, spending $149,072 more than it had to, according to a Defense Department inspector general report.
Many floors of office space sit empty in federal government buildings, a March report <a href="https://perry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402694#:~:text=Federal%20government%20agencies%20are%20using,mountain%20of%20unused%20office%20space." target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a>. Agencies use just 12% of the office space at their headquarters on average.
At one point, Agriculture Department employees <a href="https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2003/07/12/audit-shows-misuse-of-agriculture-credit-cards/30518533007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> their government credit cards to pay for things like cars, concert tickets, lingerie, tattoos, and bartender school.
These are just a few examples of the government throwing taxpayer dollars at things that would make many American jaws drop.

Transgender Monkeys And Barbie Fraud: Here’s Some Of The Government Waste DOGE Could Target

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has aims worthy of its mastermind, but plans for the government-slashing commission outlined so far have raised doubts about the project’s efficacy.
Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, originally suggested <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-elon-musks-department-of-government-efficiency-will-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOGE</a> during a wide-ranging conversation with President-elect Donald Trump on an X space. With Trump to take office next month, he has tasked Musk alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy with heading DOGE and crafting a report for ways to reduce government size and spending by July 4, 2026.
The DOGE will be set up as an outside adviser group working closely with the White House to identify inefficiency in the federal government and recommend fixes, primarily through cuts, repeals, and reorganization. Musk has set an ambitious goal: cutting federal spending by $2 trillion, roughly a quarter of the federal budget, in addition to major reductions in regulations.
The project has generated excitement among conservatives who have long called for drastic action on the expanding size of government. Some supporters of Musk and Ramaswamy’s goals for the project are nonetheless skeptical that their strategy will create meaningful and lasting savings or efficiency.
“I’ve spent two decades thinking and writing about the administrative state and how I think it presents an enormous constitutional problem,” Hillsdale College politics professor Joseph Postell told The Daily Wire. “The fact that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are talking about the things that I&#8217;ve been talking to my students about for 10 or 20 years, I&#8217;m thrilled about this.”
“I&#8217;m coming from a perspective of somebody who&#8217;s highly sympathetic to what they want to do, but who doesn&#8217;t want to see them waste their opportunity,” he added.
Musk and Ramaswamy in an op-ed in <a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2023/05/opening-up-federal-contracting-jobs-for-more-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> in November outlined DOGE’s approach.
“The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings. We will focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws,” they wrote.
But for their recommendations to turn into lasting realities, Congress must be involved, according to Postell. And working with Congress, DOGE has the opportunity to rewrite the most expansive laws passed by Congress that have effectively given bureaucrats wide-ranging authority to regulate Americans&#8217; lives.
“I think you need laws passed by Congress that restructure the administrative state and sort of revise the authorities granted to it,” Postell said. “First and foremost, it would be great to have an enormous reform of the Administrative Procedure Act where we very clearly state what agencies can do, what they can&#8217;t do, and how they have to go about doing what it is that they do.”
Postell cited reforming laws such as the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, as well. Reforming major legislation would limit its scope while, in effect, repealing massive swaths of regulations crafted under the prior laws.
As the project stands, however, Musk and Ramaswamy seem to prefer executive action rather than working with allies in Congress to battle against an expansive bureaucratic regime. Here’s a breakdown of the DOGE plan to reform the federal government:
<h3>Spending</h3>
Musk has said he can cut the annual federal budget by $2 trillion. Asked about the odds of DOGE being able to accomplish that, Postell placed the likelihood at “less than a percent.”
Part of the problem lies in what DOGE can realistically recommend cuts to. Major entitlements such as Medicaid and Social Security, which Trump has campaigned against cutting, make up 46% of the <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/where-did-tax-dollars-go-federal-budget-breakdown">budget</a>. National defense, unlikely to be cut under Trump, is another 12%. Interest on the national debt is another 8%.
As the options for cuts begin to narrow down, Musk’s $2 trillion target looks increasingly over-optimistic. Musk and Ramaswamy could recommend <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/explorer/agency#:~:text=You%20are%20viewing%20FY%202024,below%20to%20start%20your%20exploration.&amp;text=Department%20of%20Health%20and%20Human,0...&amp;text=Unreported%20Data*:%20Unreported%20amounts,how%20you%20use%20the%20data!" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gutting</a> the departments of Agriculture, Education, and Transportation and not account for half of the goal.
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Outside of entitlements and the military, Trump’s administration could still make significant cuts, if not enough to meet Musk’s goal, according to Postell. But of the coalition that put Trump in the White House, only a small portion of that is dedicated to slashing spending, presenting DOGE with a problem of lack of political support for its mission.
“It actually kind of reflects a little bit more of the older Republican party, more of the Reagan side of the Republican party, which was really focused on shrinking government,” Postell said. “Part of what’s made Trump so successful is that he’s moved away from that concept – that kind of conservative, slashing government approach.”
<h3>Regulation</h3>
In its aim to cut regulation and free the American economy from onerous or duplicitous rules, Musk and Ramaswamy cited two Supreme Court rulings they say will provide the basis for their crusade against red tape: West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency decided in 2022 and Loper Bright v. Raimondo decided in 2024.
In the EPA case, the court decided the major questions doctrine, ruling that government bureaucrats cannot make regulations over “major” policy areas without explicit approval from Congress. In Raimondo, the court overturned the Chevron doctrine, meaning that courts no longer must defer to bureaucratic interpretations of Congressionally-approved laws and rules.
“Together, these cases suggest that a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in WSJ.
It’s doubtful whether those cases will work for DOGE the way Musk and Ramaswamy predict. As far as West Virginia may be concerned, it’s unclear how many regulations could be affected. 
“A lot of the existing rules really have already survived that kind of scrutiny,” Postell said. “So, I&#8217;m not sure how this authorizes a retroactive look back.”
Raimondo may actually cause more headaches for DOGE than Chevron would have. Under Chevron, the Trump administration could use the ruling to assert its own narrow interpretation of a law and roll back regulations. Under Raimondo, courts have authority to interpret laws anew.
“Now, there&#8217;s actually not going to be deference given to the Trump administration when, you know, Greenpeace or the NRDC inevitably sues the EPA over that,” Postell said. “In a strange way, the death of Chevron is going to be a problem for the Trump administration&#8217;s regulatory reform effort. It’s not a tool in their toolbox, it’s actually a tool that’s going to be used against them.”
<h3>Bureaucracy</h3>
Within the sprawling federal bureaucracy, there is undoubtedly much fat that can be cut while maintaining the government’s current level of function. Toward that end, Ramaswamy has suggested some policies that will likely provide substantial results, such as requiring all federal employees to work in office five days a week where appropriate. A recent survey <a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2023/05/opening-up-federal-contracting-jobs-for-more-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that just 6% of bureaucrats currently hold that schedule.
That said, reductions in the federal workforce is arguably one of the least impactful of DOGE’s aims. Without the cuts to regulations and federal spending, reductions in the federal workforce would result in very little worthwhile change.
“A lot of people don&#8217;t really want governmental efficiency,” Postell said. “You know, tyranny is not easier to swallow simply because it’s efficient.”
While the extent of DOGE’s recommendations for cuts to the federal bureaucracy have yet to be seen, deep cuts could result in a different set of problems if government work is shifted from bureaucrats to private contractors.
Private contractors already make up the majority of the federal government’s workforce. According to one <a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2023/05/opening-up-federal-contracting-jobs-for-more-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimate</a>, the number of federal contractors nearly doubles the number of federal employees: 3.7 million contractors to 2 million employees. While a smaller federal footprint would generally be positive, if that reduction resulted in more duties turned over to private contractors, the benefits are more questionable, according to Postell.
“If it starts to move towards a more privatized government, you could have serious concerns that you&#8217;ve actually made a problem worse because that&#8217;s a less accountable government, maybe, even than one where you know which department and which employees are behind whatever is happening,” Postell said.

TOPSHOT-US-GOVERNMENT-POLITICS-MUSK

Breaking Down DOGE: What To Expect From Musk’s Grand Government Overhaul Project

Federal Government

Hillsdale College

Medicaid

Medicare

National Debt

On Monday, Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/rand-paul" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rand Paul</a> (R-KY) released the latest edition of his annual <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barbie-fraud-meth-monkeys-rand-pauls-annual-festivus-report-shows-900-billion-in-government-waste" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Festivus Report,&#8221;</a> pitching it this year as being not just a precursor for the incoming <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-government-efficiency-doge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)</a>, but also a useful guide for anyone looking to cut down on federal spending.
The <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FESTIVUS-REPORT-2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 report</a> highlights more than $1 trillion of &#8220;government waste,&#8221; including a Florida man stealing $8 million in COVID-19 relief funds and using the money to buy an island and more, &#8220;ice-skating drag queens,&#8221; a $12 million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, $32,596.12 for breakdancing, and the U.S. Navy being &#8220;set to waste almost $90 billion on ineffective Navy vessels.&#8221;
The report lists $288,563 spent to &#8220;ensure&#8221; bird-watching groups have safe spaces aka &#8220;Affinity Groups.&#8221; The State Department also allocated $330,000 to fund censorship of non-liberal and conservative media, and $419,470 spent to &#8220;determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats.&#8221; The Department of Energy is deploying $15.5 billion to &#8220;push Americans toward electric vehicles they don&#8217;t want,&#8221; and much more.
&#8220;Last Festivus, we bemoaned the national debt nearing $34 trillion,&#8221; Paul wrote. &#8220;In just a year, Washington’s career politicians and bureaucrats have managed to push it beyond $36 trillion — unsurprisingly, with hardly a second thought.&#8221;
Paul blamed &#8220;everybody&#8221; for the nation&#8217;s &#8220;crushing national debt,&#8221; but acknowledged that help in battling government waste is on the way in the form of DOGE, which is set to be led by Tech executive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon </a>Musk and biotech entrepreneur <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vivek-ramaswamy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vivek Ramaswamy</a> under President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s second administration.
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&#8220;No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more,&#8221; Paul wrote. &#8220;As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but I’ve been fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool. And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.&#8221;
In a thread posted to X, Paul <a href="https://x.com/RandPaul/status/1871214884458742219" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> some of his &#8220;favorites&#8221; from the report, tagging Musk, Ramaswamy, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-doge-could-cut-1200-coffee-cups-covid-clawbacks-and-3-cent-pennies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus</a>.
After making a quip about Ernst&#8217;s voting record on spending bills, Paul <a href="https://x.com/RandPaul/status/1871222534852743173" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;One thing that people should know, I tell jokes here, in case you weren’t here for other years. I welcome [Ernst] to [DOGE], along with anyone else old or new to the massive problems our spending and debt are causing.&#8221;
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Here are some of my favorites from this report, soon to become yours, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElonMusk</a>&#8216;s, <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VivekGRamaswamy</a>&#8216;s, AND <a href="https://twitter.com/joniernst?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JONIERNST</a>&#8216;s. Ok, maybe not hers. I don&#8217;t know who she thinks she&#8217;s kidding. She&#8217;s voted for every spending bill since she got here…
Read more here:… <a href="https://t.co/zvzXEFdTwM">pic.twitter.com/zvzXEFdTwM</a>
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1871214884458742219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Senator Rand Paul

‘DOGE Before DOGE Was Cool’: Rand Paul Unveils Annual ‘Festivus Report’ Showing $1T In Govt Waste

Rand Paul

President-elect Donald Trump is &#8220;totally against&#8221; the proposed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congress-reveals-another-stopgap-bill-to-avert-government-shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Continuing Resolution</a>, a stopgap bill that would kick the legislative football into 2025 and avert a government shutdown before members of Congress leave the Capitol for the holidays.
Fox News host Lawrence B. Jones reported the president-elect&#8217;s feelings on the matter via X, saying, &#8220;I just spoke with the President-Elect @realDonaldTrump, and he is &#8216;totally against&#8217; the proposed CR.&#8221;
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I just spoke with the President-Elect <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> , and he is “totally against” the proposed CR.
&mdash; Lawrence Jones III (@LawrenceBJones3) <a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceBJones3/status/1869484867932848169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
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A number in Trump&#8217;s orbit — including the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/speaker-reveals-conversation-with-musk-about-stopgap-bill-packed-with-add-ons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will together head up Trump&#8217;s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — have panned the CR.
Ramaswamy made his thoughts known in a lengthy post, stating that he&#8217;d waited to weigh in on the issue until he&#8217;d read the 1500+ pages and could make an informed decision.
The short answer, according to Ramaswamy, was that the CR was unnecessarily bulky: &#8220;If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.&#8221;
&#8220;Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending,&#8221; Ramaswamy continued, explaining some of the expenditures the CR would authorize. &#8220;Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN.&#8221;
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&#8220;The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending. The legislation will end up hurting many of the people it purports to help,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Debt-fueled spending sprees may &#8216;feel good&#8217; today, but it&#8217;s like showering cocaine on an addict: it&#8217;s not compassion, it&#8217;s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.&#8221;
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I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill &amp; speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here&#39;s my view: it&#39;s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways &amp; pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they…
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1869407887983821089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Ramaswamy went on to argue that a true &#8220;stopgap&#8221; measure could have been accomplished in 20 pages, and that the additional material amounted to spending that was either not necessary at all, or at the very least, not immediately so.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has defended the CR, arguing that it would take care of a few necessary items while pushing a vote on larger and more long-term expenditures until March, when Trump will be in the White House and Republicans will control both the House and the Senate.
&#8220;Republicans CANNOT allow millions of Americans devastated by the historic hurricane season, or our struggling farmers, go without the help they desperately need. We will decide FY25 spending in March, when Trump is back in the WH and Republicans control the Senate and House,&#8221; he posted via X.
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Republicans CANNOT allow millions of Americans devastated by the historic hurricane season, or our struggling farmers, go without the help they desperately need.   
We will decide FY25 spending in March, when Trump is back in the WH and Republicans control the Senate and House. <a href="https://t.co/f8OpQleOoJ">pic.twitter.com/f8OpQleOoJ</a>
&mdash; Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1869397280652226746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Meet the Press – Season 78

Trump ‘Totally Against’ Proposed CR To Avert Government Shutdown

Trump 'Totally Against' Proposed CR To Avert Government Shutdown

Government Shutdown

Mike Johnson

On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) said that he spoke to tech executive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> about the new <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20241216/CR.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continuing resolution</a> (CR) to avert a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/government-shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government shutdown</a> by the end of the week, which includes many additions.
The stopgap measure <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congress-reveals-another-stopgap-bill-to-avert-government-shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeks to provide</a> funds through March 14, 2025, and more than <a href="https://x.com/cami_mondeaux/status/1869167167071236572" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$100 billion in disaster aid</a>. It also has provisions geared toward boosting farmers, healthcare reform, <a href="https://x.com/bresreports/status/1869180846101447119" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rebuilding</a> Maryland&#8217;s devastated Francis Scott Key Bridge, a <a href="https://x.com/jamiedupree/status/1869363001092091966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay raise</a> for Congress, and more.
Musk, who is slated to help lead the new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-government-efficiency-doge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)</a> under the second Trump administration to devise a plan to reduce wasteful spending, <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1869310453253546066" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X that the bill &#8220;should not pass.&#8221; In response to a photo showing a stack of the 1,547-page measure, he posted, &#8220;Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?&#8221; Some lawmakers, including conservative members, have also expressed dismay with the bill.
During an interview on FOX &amp; Friends, Johnson revealed that he spoke on Tuesday night with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who has also been tasked with heading DOGE.
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&#8220;I was communicating with Elon last night,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this, and Vivek and I talked last night at about almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I get it.&#8217; He said, &#8216;We understand you&#8217;re in an impossible position. Everybody knows that.'&#8221;
A divided Congress has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/johnson-led-house-passes-bill-to-avert-government-shutdown-with-dem-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaned</a> on multiple CRs in recent years, including <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-continuing-resolution-government-shutdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last September</a>, when lawmakers failed to agree on spending bills under the normal appropriations process. However, Johnson suggested during the interview that the trend could soon end, with Republicans taking control of the House, Senate, and White House next month.
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&#8220;Remember guys, we still have just a razor thin margin of Republicans. So, any bill has to have Democrat votes. They understand the situation,&#8221; the speaker said. &#8220;They said, it&#8217;s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don&#8217;t like the spending. I said, guess what, fellas, I don&#8217;t either. We&#8217;ve got to get this done because here&#8217;s the key: by doing this, we are clearing the decks, and we are setting up for Trump to come in roaring back with the America First agenda. That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re going to run with gusto, beginning January 3, when we start the new Congress when Republicans again are in control.&#8221;
Johnson insisted that fiscal conservatives such as himself will &#8220;finally do the things that we&#8217;ve been wanting to do for the last couple of years&#8221; in the new term once Democrats no longer have command of the Senate. He added, &#8220;So, we have to get this thing done so we don&#8217;t have the shutdown, so we get the short-term funding measure, and we get to March where we can put our fingerprints on the spending. That&#8217;s when the big changes start. And we can&#8217;t wait to get there.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://x.com/freedomcaucus/status/1869190715651043622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to X, the conservative House Freedom Caucus shared demands for moving forward with what it called the &#8220;Cramnibus,&#8221; including &#8220;a full 72 hours to read&#8221; the read the CR, a vote on the <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20241216/Disaster%20Offset%20and%20Government%20Efficiency%20Act.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOGE Act</a> &#8220;to cut non-defense spending 13% to pre-COVID 2019 levels,&#8221; and stopping President Joe Biden&#8217;s &#8220;fire sale of border wall construction materials&#8221; that was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-races-to-sell-off-border-wall-parts-before-trump-takes-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by The Daily Wire.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1869211269322227870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> the CR in a statement, saying he was “pleased” with the measure being &#8220;free of cuts and poison pills, while also securing Democratic priorities.&#8221; In a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1869045536793284710" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the CR was intended to be &#8220;simple,&#8221; but it was &#8220;important&#8221; to address hurricane disasters and help struggling farmers.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson

Speaker Reveals Conversation With Musk About Stopgap Bill Packed With Add-Ons

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