Ohio&#8217;s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy, addressed Medicaid fraud in the Buckeye State on Tuesday, following <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families">explosive reports</a> from Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak.
Rosiak&#8217;s findings have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-says-safeguards-exist-to-stop-medicaid-fraud-but-admits-massive-loophole?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Says+Safeguards+Exist+To+Stop+Medicaid+Fraud%2C+But+Admits+Massive+Loophole">exposed</a> billions of dollars of apparent Medicaid fraud in Ohio, by way of dubious “personal services” payments where people are paid to spend time with their own family. Most people who participate in the fraud appear to be foreigners.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s fair to say that, if you had not just reported the facts, as you did a few weeks ago, the people in this room, who are working hard to solve these problems, wouldn&#8217;t have the platform to actually make this a priority for our state,&#8221; Ramaswamy said of Rosiak.
The former presidential candidate won the Ohio Republican primary earlier this month. He&#8217;s facing Democrat nominee Amy Acton in Ohio&#8217;s November gubernatorial election.
&#8220;Healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, &#8230; the healthcare costs that Ohioans are bearing every day,&#8221; he said.
Medicaid is for Americans who temporarily &#8220;need a hand up,&#8221; the Republican said. &#8220;The problem is that, when you have criminals, fraudsters, thieves, claiming money for themselves, it diverts money away from those for whom these programs were intended.&#8221;
Ramaswamy said Medicaid fraud is creating higher healthcare costs for all Ohioans and Americans at large.
&#8220;The easiest solution that I will be able to deliver to you in the first six months of my leadership of this state, will be to crush Medicaid fraud by the billions,&#8221; he declared. &#8220;And to put money back in your pockets, where it belongs.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Crushing Medicaid fraud is one of the simplest ways to make healthcare more affordable. Most healthcare policies force a painful trade-off between cost, access and quality, but this one doesn’t: It takes money from criminals and returns it to the families who play by the rules. <a href="https://t.co/RQJq68lG80">pic.twitter.com/RQJq68lG80</a>
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056753013327630419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Crushing Medicaid fraud is one of the simplest ways to make healthcare more affordable,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056753013327630419">posted</a> to X. &#8220;Most healthcare policies force a painful trade-off between cost, access, and quality, but this one doesn’t: it takes money from criminals and returns it to the families who play by the rules.&#8221;
Rosiak attended the event personally and addressed the crowd, detailing the fraud he&#8217;s uncovered in Ohio. Notably, in the wake of the reporting, Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vance-threatens-to-cut-funds-to-states-that-ignore-medicaid-fraud-after-daily-wire-investigation?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Vance+Threatens+To+Cut+Funds+To+States+That+Ignore+Medicaid+Fraud+After+Daily+Wire+Investigation">warned</a> that the Trump administration will cut off certain federal anti-fraud funding to states that fail to aggressively investigate Medicaid abuse.
Rosiak is set to testify before a Senate panel this week about his findings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🔴 LIVE: Crushing Fraud. Lowering Healthcare Costs. <a href="https://t.co/3hT2Jwyy2a">https://t.co/3hT2Jwyy2a</a>
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2056744991477600390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-says-safeguards-exist-to-stop-medicaid-fraud-but-admits-massive-loophole?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Says+Safeguards+Exist+To+Stop+Medicaid+Fraud%2C+But+Admits+Massive+Loophole">Ohio Says Safeguards Exist To Stop Medicaid Fraud, But Admits Massive Loophole</a>

Vivek Ramaswamy, Luke Rosiak

Vivek Vows To Tackle Medicaid Fraud ‘By The Billions’ After Bombshell Daily Wire Investigation

Daily Wire

Fraud

Luke Rosiak

Ohio

Vivek Ramaswamy

This article is on Ohio&#8217;s response to “Medicaid Millions,” a Daily Wire series exposing billions of dollars in dubious “personal services” payments where people are paid to spend time with their own family.
***
Ohio says it has safeguards in place to cut down on fraud and abuse of Medicaid home health care, but one of the biggest tools to verify care is actually taking place has been rendered useless.
The Daily Wire’s investigation of the multi-billion dollar a year Medicaid industry in Ohio has raised concerns about abuse of a program in which people are paid to visit the homes of elderly poor people and provide “cooking,” “cleaning,” and other non-medical services that even include “companionship.”
In response to those concerns, the Ohio Department of Medicaid said it is “aware of concerns involving home health care activity” in Columbus, and “has been actively investigating these matters since prior to the publication of The Daily Wire series.” It touted an “extensive set of safeguards&#8221; in place to ensure aides are actually going to homes.
The key component is &#8220;mandatory electronic visit verification capturing date, time, and service location,&#8221; a feature that is required by federal law. But Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s administration inserted massive loopholes including making the verification optional.
The 21st Century Cures Act, passed by Congress in 2016, <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/home-community-based-services/home-community-based-services-guidance-additional-resources/electronic-visit-verification" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandated</a> that states require electronic visit verification, or EVV, by January 2020 for the riskiest category of “personal services” – non-medical services like cooking and cleaning – and by January 2023 for in-home nursing. Yet for years, Ohio simply paid providers even if they didn’t submit any electronic evidence, according to a <a href="https://ohioauditor.gov/Auditsearch/Reports/2024/117_Electronic_Visit_Verification_Report_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 audit</a> by Auditor of State Keith Faber.
Faber’s audit, examining payments in 2022, found that 44% of personal services claims had no electronic verification. The situation was similar for home nursing. “This resulted in approximately $1.1 billion in claims not supported by an EVV visit,&#8221; the audit found.
The audit said if the state has an electronic validation system, then using it should be a &#8220;condition of payment.&#8221; A spokeswoman for the Ohio Medicaid Department, Stephanie O’Grady, told The Daily Wire that this was done in March 2025.
But shortly before EVV was made mandatory, it was neutered as a fraud prevention tool. The most important feature – GPS coordinates captured by an electronic device – was made optional and defaulted to “off.”
“Effective July 1, 2024, GPS functionality within any EVV application or device may only be activated with the signed consent of the individual receiving services — valid for one year and revocable at any time,” O’Grady said. “The approach allows the person receiving care to make an informed decision related to privacy protections for individuals receiving home and community-based services.”
O&#8217;Grady disclosed to The Daily Wire that GPS is turned off for nearly half of home visits, with reliable coordinates present in only 53% of electronic records.
The patient was also supposed to sign their name to show that the patient and aide were actually together, but that, too, was removed in 2024, Faber’s audit flagged.
Earlier this year, Ohio’s attorney general Dave Yost, whose office is tasked with policing Medicaid fraud, testified that the rollback of safeguards made his job difficult.
“Until about a year ago [GPS] was required, now it&#8217;s optional,” he <a href="https://www.ohiochannel.org/programs/ohio-house-medicaid-committee-3-24-2026-joint-meeting-of-medicaid-committees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told legislators in March</a>. “I do not know for the life of me why it went away, but I respectfully ask you to put in statute where no vendor, no bureaucrat can object to legitimate monitoring.”
“While we had the GPS, you could see where the person was, they had to drive to the house of the person they were providing services for, you could see how long they were there. That record makes it much harder to do the fake billing where they say they went to five houses but really sat at home,” he said.
Ohio state lawmaker Josh Williams, a Republican from Toledo, says there was no reason why the recipient of a government service would object, or be able to object, to the government verifying that the person being paid by the government to help him actually showed up.
“It seems like the DeWine administration continues to protect the bad actors. And I&#8217;m frustrated as a legislator, I&#8217;m frustrated as a taxpayer. I&#8217;m frustrated because I don&#8217;t think we should be providing protection for these individuals,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. “We&#8217;re not checking any of your personal information. We&#8217;re making sure that the person that is assigned to your case is actually going to your residence.&#8221;
“You want to be a Medicaid provider in the state of Ohio for home health care aid, we should be able to track your location data during the times in which you&#8217;re asking for payment,” he added.
He said that a common fraud scheme involves a patient and caregiver colluding to have the government pay for nonexistent work — in which case the patient could now simply refuse GPS verification of the caregiver’s presence.
“You have family members going to provide services to an elderly individual, and on many occasions, they&#8217;re not even showing up, but they&#8217;re getting paid. That family member is not going to report their nephew or their cousin or their niece for not showing up. That&#8217;s part of a widespread, broad fraud that we&#8217;re seeing,” he said.
Williams has introduced a <a href="https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb795" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> to make GPS mandatory again. But even then, it appears that GPS data could easily be faked.
Faber’s audit said that Ohio spent $146 million contracting with Sandata, a company that produces EVV devices and software, resulting in Ohio providers being able to use Sandata’s software for free. Nonetheless, the state allows home care providers to use their <a href="https://medicaid.ohio.gov/resources-for-providers/special-programs-and-initiatives/electronic-visit-verification" target="_blank" rel="noopener">own software</a> instead, potentially including software that simply transmits fake coordinates rather than ones coming straight from a mobile device’s sensors.
The vulnerabilities don’t end there. Ohio also permits the electronic records to be manually adjusted. In 2022, “34 percent of all EVV entries were manually adjusted,” Faber’s audit found.
Additionally, ten percent of aides are exempt from EVV because they live with the patient, often a family member, O’Grady said.
Yost, who resigned as attorney general last week for a job in the private sector, said in his testimony that in addition to DeWine’s rules, Ohio laws also make it difficult to prove and punish Medicaid fraud.
The attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit isn’t authorized to use subpoenas to gather information, he said. If someone is actually investigated, charged, and convicted, their punishment will be light because Medicaid fraud is “capped as being less serious than other theft, as a third degree felony,” he said.
<h3>Red state blues</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1092743" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-1024x480.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-1024x480.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-300x141.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-768x360.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-1536x720.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/ohio-hhc-chart-2048x959.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
The Medicaid scandal in Ohio has exploded under an all-Republican leadership. In fact, the historical dollar amounts in this series, relying on data through 2024, likely understate the ongoing cost, because DeWine drastically increased the pay rate for home health providers in 2024.
The increases took effect as “part of Governor Mike DeWine’s commitment to making sure every Ohioan receives quality care and that providers receive support to continue delivering the highest level of care for Ohio’s residents,” a press release <a href="https://ohiohcbs.pcgus.com/news/important-information-fee-for-service-reimbursement-rate-increases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “The rate increases are historic in nature, totaling approximately $3.4 billion per year,” including home health and other Medicaid spending.
DeWine has been accused of being soft on fraud, particularly after a spokesman once called fraud in the state&#8217;s Somali hotspots “the <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/01/14/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-responds-to-fraud-concerns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost of doing business</a>.”
Last week, Vivek Ramaswamy secured the Republican nomination to replace DeWine next year. Responding to The Daily Wire’s reporting, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXQjWxVQTw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that states have “turned a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXQjWxVQTw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blind eye</a> to this level of rampant fraud” despite the fact that “in a modern era of AI, you have a toolkit that allows you to detect aberrant abnormalities.”
That’s partly because of an incentive issue with how Medicaid is set up, he said. Medicaid is run by the states, but is largely paid for by the federal government. That means it’s up to states to stop waste and fraud, but they don’t always have a strong financial motivation to do so, because it would decrease federal dollars to the state.
Ohio’s Medicaid program is set to be in the hole <a href="https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/ohio-medicaid-projected-to-lose-33b-over-next-decade/article_2f369df5-0a08-4819-a490-ac1b46612b95.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$33 billion</a> over the next few years due to federal changes aimed at stopping states from gaming the numbers to offload even more of the burden to the feds.
Vice President <a href="https://x.com/JDVance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JD Vance</a>, also from Ohio, said in response to The Daily Wire’s series: “I’m directing the task force to look into it and take immediate action to prosecute any fraudsters involved and stop all further payments as appropriate.”
Ramaswamy noted that there is “uppercase F fraud, and also lowercase F fraud, which may be technically legal but doesn’t comport with anyone’s sense of who should get these dollars.” Those cases could necessitate changes in law or policy to stop the bleeding.
Aggressive Medicaid “waiver” programs such as those the feds have allowed Minnesota and Ohio to run are particularly vulnerable to abuse, and have exploded in usage. Medicaid takes up nearly half of Ohio’s general revenue fund, and spending has doubled in recent years.
Yet even as the red flags are hard to ignore — the percentage of people claiming to be autistic is exploding the dubious levels, for example — there has been aggressive, almost blatant pushback against using common and affordable technology to provide basic safeguards.
Nationally, a group called “<a href="https://www.stopevv.com/media-toolkit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stop EVV</a>” launched a “media toolkit” showing pictures of disabled people holding signs with messages like, “I’M THE EMPLOYER. IT IS MY RIGHT TO SCHEDULE, SUPERVISE &amp; SIGN MY EMPLOYEE’S TIMESHEET.” The site pictured a bald eagle and American flag and called stopping GPS tracking a “civil rights” issue.
Ohio’s Department of Medicaid says that “all allegations of fraud are investigated,” and further that many of the companies identified by The Daily Wire “are subject to ongoing investigation” by the state. It said it is unable to comment on those investigations.
But Faber, the auditor — who is running for attorney general — has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-investigation-ignites-imminent-crackdown-on-medicaid-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning</a> of abuse that mirrors The Daily Wire’s findings. He recently told the legislature that 38% of Ohio home health spending was in Franklin County, and that of that, 41% – or more than 15% of all home health care spending in the state — is spent in a four mile radius.
Faber’s audit found that in 2022, there were 2,479 home health companies in Ohio, which were paid $1.8 billion. That means 10% of all home health companies in the state are located in the seven buildings owned by one landlord in Columbus&#8217;s Somali neighborhood, which was highlighted in our <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million">second installment</a>.
The data analyzed by the Daily Wire, finding a quarter billion dollars to companies in seven buildings, covered from 2018 to 2024. It understates the total because data for smaller companies is not available for privacy reasons.
Parker Thayer, an investigator for the Capital Research Center, contributed reporting.
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J.D. Vance/Mike DeWine

Ohio Says Safeguards Exist To Stop Medicaid Fraud, But Admits Massive Loophole

J.D. Vance

Medicaid Millionaires

Special Reporting

While hardworking Americans juggle grocery bills and sky-high property taxes, Ohio’s Medicaid money machine was apparently having a pretty great run.
Now Republican Ohio gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy says it is time to slam the brakes.
After Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak exposed what critics are calling a sprawling Medicaid cash pipeline operating across Ohio, Ramaswamy is now calling for prosecutions, taxpayer savings, and a crackdown on abuse inside the system.
“Common sense policies to say we&#8217;re respecting the rule of law,” Ramaswamy said on &#8216;Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany.&#8217; “Lawbreakers ought to be prosecuted. We should not apologize for that.”
The comments come after Rosiak uncovered a bizarre web of Medicaid-linked companies across Ohio, including one Columbus address tied to 94 separate businesses that reportedly billed taxpayers more than $66 million.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The taxpayer is not a piggy bank to be bilked. We will comprehensively review Ohio’s $40BN+ Medicaid expenditures and aggressively prosecute illegal abuses of the program. That starts in early 2027 &amp; we won’t hold back. <a href="https://t.co/MFRAU4B69z">pic.twitter.com/MFRAU4B69z</a>
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/2053147627932577793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The investigation blew the lid off some of the offices appearing practically deserted, with covered windows, generic “Home Health LLC” names, and little visible evidence that actual operations were taking place inside.
The reporting zeroed in on Ohio’s exploding Medicaid-funded home healthcare system, where loosely defined “homemaking” services like cooking and cleaning can generate massive taxpayer-funded payouts with limited oversight.
Rosiak’s investigation also highlighted how Columbus, home to one of the nation’s largest Somali immigrant populations, has seen entire neighborhoods flooded with Medicaid-billing home healthcare businesses as operators realized the government would pay people to provide “companionship” and care services to family members inside private homes.
Ramaswamy argued the issue goes far beyond bureaucratic waste.
To him, it is directly connected to why taxpayers feel squeezed in the first place.
“But these are taxpayer dollars that belong in the hands of citizens,” he said. “Property taxes in the state have gotten too high.”
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The Ohio Republican also connected the Medicaid controversy to his broader push to slash taxes across the state if elected governor this November.
“Income taxes in certain states are zero income tax,” Ramaswamy said. “I want Ohio to be such a zero income tax state as well, but that means we&#8217;re going to have to take a look at every other area of savings for the taxpayer.”
Rosiak’s reporting painted a picture not just of isolated fraud, but of an entire taxpayer-funded ecosystem where oversight appears weak, accountability appears scarce, and huge amounts of public money are flowing through companies that investigators say often raise obvious red flags.
One especially eye-popping detail involved a landlord whose buildings reportedly housed hundreds of Medicaid-related businesses billing the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars.
The investigation also highlighted how difficult the system can be to verify in practice. In some cases, family members are reportedly paid through Medicaid programs to “care” for relatives at home, with little meaningful oversight over whether services are actually being rendered.

Vivek_Money_Trail

The Reckoning Vivek Is Vowing After DW Exposed Medicaid Money Trail

Medicaid

Vivek Ramaswamy said he would &#8220;aggressively&#8221; prosecute the kind of fraud uncovered by The Daily Wire if elected governor of Ohio, saying lawmakers had too long “turned a blind eye” to government waste.
Ramaswamy told Daily Wire co-founder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ben-shapiro-ep-2419?elementPosition=2&amp;row=5&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Ben Shapiro</a> on Tuesday that he would crack down on rampant fraud in Ohio subsidized by taxpayer dollars. His comments came after Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DW+Investigation+Reveals+One+Of+The+Biggest+Government+Waste+Scandals+Hiding+In+Plain+Sight">published a story</a> revealing that Ohio was paying people under the guise of “home healthcare” to do “chores” like cooking and cleaning for their own families, paid for by Medicaid. 
“Daily Wire’s reporting was really intriguing to me. I wish I could say that it was a shock compared to what I hear on the ground,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was not a shock, but I appreciate you putting a national spotlight on it in my own home state.”
“When I am in power, hopefully if we’re elected, we&#8217;re not going to sweep it under the rug. We&#8217;ve got to prosecute aggressively,” Ramaswamy added.
Ramaswamy made the comments as Republicans head to the polls Tuesday to choose their gubernatorial nominee. He is widely expected to win the Republican nomination, with most polls showing him with a commanding lead. 
Rosiak reported Monday that Ohio spent a billion dollars on home health care in 2024, the last year for which data is available. What these funds went toward was difficult to verify because they often went toward &#8220;home health care&#8221; performed in private residences by family members of those getting the care. 
To address the apparent widespread fraud, Ramaswamy said he would start by enforcing the laws already on the books. 
“I think that the reality is all states, including Ohio, have turned a blind eye to this level of rampant fraud, of the welfare system broadly, including Medicaid,” he told Shapiro. “And it starts, Ben, with enforcing the laws that are already on the books.”
He said that the prosecutions would help create deterrence for people to stop bilking taxpayers. 
“It&#8217;s not really even bilking the government so much as bilking the taxpayer, the ordinary law-abiding American, the ordinary law-abiding Ohioan.  That&#8217;s not OK. And we have to send that deterrent signal,” he said. 
Part of the problem is that the federal government currently reimburses the states for welfare expenses, which Ramaswamy said creates a flawed incentive structure for local state politicians to keep doling out benefits while the federal government handles the burden. Ramaswamy said he would work with the Trump administration to correct this incentive structure. 
“This is doable,” he said. “But it does require a leader at the top who&#8217;s willing to act with a spine decisively.”

Donald Trump Campaigns For President Across Pennsylvania

Ramaswamy Says He Will ‘Aggressively’ Prosecute Kind Of Fraud Uncovered By Daily Wire

Tech entrepreneur and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is backing businessman Nate Morris in the contested Republican race to replace Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, The Daily Wire has learned. 
Ramaswamy told The Daily Wire he believed that Morris would be a key ally for President Donald Trump in the Senate. Morris, the founder of waste management company Rubicon, previously <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240725415339/en/Morris-Industries-Invests-in-Series-B-Round-of-Strive-Enterprises">invested</a> in Strive, Ramaswamy’s anti-woke wealth management venture. 
“Nate Morris is the exact kind of candidate the MAGA movement needs in the Senate,&#8221; Ramaswamy told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The era of career politicians is over.” 
“Delivering President Trump’s America First agenda requires fresh, bold, visionary leadership. I know Nate is the exact right man for the job and I am incredibly proud to endorse him for U.S. Senate,&#8221; Ramaswamy added.
Morris welcomed the endorsement from Ramaswamy, saying that he looked forward to developing a partnership between Kentucky and Ohio to fight for an “America First” agenda. 
“Vivek Ramaswamy truly embodies everything that the future of the America First movement has to offer and I am honored to have his endorsement,” Morris said. “With Vivek Ramaswamy in Columbus and me in Washington D.C., I am confident that we can and we will continue to make Kentucky, Ohio, and America great.”
Ramaswamy is currently running to replace Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Morris&#8217;s top two opponents are Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr and former Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron. The three candidates have all sparred with each other over the issue of DEI. Morris has accused his two rivals of being puppets of McConnell, who has been in the Senate since 1985.
In August, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-senate-candidate-deleted-environmentalist-tweets-before-launching-campaign">reported</a> that Morris had deleted multiple environmental tweets prior to launching his campaign. In response to that story, Donald Trump Jr., who has endorsed Morris, vouched for the Kentucky businessman&#8217;s anti-woke credentials. 
“Few people have been more outspoken against ESG and woke capital than me over the past five years, and I can say with total certainty that Nate is 100% aligned with us on supporting the parallel economy, combating ESG, and destroying woke capital once and for all,” Trump Jr. said, pointing to Morris’s investments in Strive. 
Morris has also been endorsed by Senators Bernie Moreno (Ohio) and Jim Banks (IN).

Templates (8)

Vivek Ramaswamy Makes Endorsement In Contested GOP Senate Primary

Kentucky

Mitch McConnell

Politics

Senate

Just one person contacted emergency responders as dozens of onlookers witnessed a mob of mostly black men pummel a man and a woman in downtown Cincinnati last week, according to law enforcement.
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge <a href="https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/1949953814234050770">proclaimed</a> her disappointment on Monday after roughly 100 people who stood by and either filmed, jeered, or did nothing to aid the outnumbered victims during the brawl. Video of the street brawl went viral online over the weekend. It is unclear what race or ethnicity the two victims are from the footage.
“For us to have 100 or so people down there, involved in, and/or watching this event, recording with their cell phones, and for us to get only one phone call of this incident is unacceptable in this city,” Theetge said during a press conference. “One person did the right thing and called 911.”
The police chief said that five people have been charged in connection with the brawl, with more arrests expected.
“Anyone who put their hands on another individual during this incident in an attempt to cause harm will face consequences. I don&#8217;t care which side of the incident or the fight they were on. If they placed their hands on somebody in an attempt to cause harm, that is unacceptable,” said Theetge.
Investigators are looking into the role alcohol might have played in the incident, and whether some of the people involved had been overserved at bars or restaurants, according to the police chief.
“It is clear to us that alcohol played a part, a significant part, in this incident,” she said.
The brawl took place late Friday night or early Saturday morning, according to Theetge. Videos of the incident began to rocket around the internet on Sunday. One of the most shared shows a man and woman mobbed by what appears to be mostly black attackers.
The man is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alarming-video-catches-man-pummeled-woman-cold-cocked-by-cincinnati-street-mob?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Alarming+Video+Catches+Man+Pummeled%2C+Woman+Cold-Cocked+By+Cincinnati+Street+Mob">thrown</a> to the ground and pounded for nearly a minute before he is picked up, bloodied and unsteady, only to fall back to the ground shortly after. After he is picked up again and helped away, a woman appears to try to shield him from further harm when a black man punches her in the face, knocking her unconscious.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running to be the next governor of Ohio, posted on X Monday that he had spoken with the female victim, who he said is named Holly.
“It’s unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night, or even an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Hard-working Americans shouldn’t have to worry for their safety when they have a good time in our cities. Holly said not a single local or state official had yet reached out as of earlier this afternoon, other than one police detective,” Ramaswamy <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1949940829516103758">wrote</a>.
“Leftists like to lecture about ‘systemic injustice’ while thugs turn our turn cities into war zones. I’m done with their excuses. As governor, I’ll make sure they’re behind bars, not running wild,” he added.

Teresa Theetge

‘Unacceptable’: Cincinnati Police Chief Says Only One Person Called 911 During Brutal Mob Attack

'Unacceptable': Cincinnati Police Chief Says Only One Person Called 911 During Brutal Mob Attack

Cincinnati

Crime

U.S.

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.

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

2026 Midterms

Donald Trump

Elections

governor

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>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#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

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

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