Trump Official Set to Replace Elon Musk at Government Efficiency Office Identified
Note: This article includes opinion-based commentary.
A top official from former President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to take over leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) following Elon Musk’s departure.
Russell Vought, who served as the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, is expected to assume many of DOGE’s key responsibilities. According to The Wall Street Journal, these include working with Congress to recover federal funds, redefining federal employee classifications, and advancing Trump’s proposed 2025 budget — which includes sweeping cuts to government spending.
Vought has quietly supported Musk’s initiatives and commended the agency’s regulatory rollback efforts, noting that Trump once vowed to repeal ten regulations for every new one introduced.
However, Vought’s appointment is expected to spark backlash from Democrats, largely due to his involvement in Project 2025 — a controversial conservative policy blueprint seen by critics as a guide for Trump’s potential second term. The project calls for major cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare and even proposes eliminating the Department of Homeland Security. Despite Trump distancing himself from the document, it has faced widespread criticism from the left.
Nonetheless, Trump has named Vought as his top fiscal policy chief, putting him in charge of continuing Musk’s aggressive downsizing of the federal government — efforts that have already led to the closure of several federal agencies and triggered large-scale protests.
Over the coming months, DOGE is expected to ramp up efforts to cut government regulations in line with a February executive order directing agencies to reverse any “unlawful rules.”
Vought also plans to revive and enforce Schedule F, a Trump-era executive order that stripped job protections from many high-ranking federal workers. President Biden had previously revoked this order, but Trump reinstated it after returning to office.
Additionally, Vought is expected to push Congress to approve a $9.3 billion rescissions package proposed by Trump. The plan seeks to withdraw funding from agencies like the State Department, USAID, NPR, and PBS.
His commitment to cutting federal spending has even stirred tensions within the Republican Party. Vought’s stance on limiting increases in military spending has clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s position. Vought’s strategy would allow military funding increases only through the budget reconciliation process, rather than as part of the annual budget — effectively keeping defense spending flat unless extra steps are taken.
Some Republican lawmakers were surprised by this approach, believing Hegseth had promised increased military funding in the upcoming budget. They now worry that relying on a one-time reconciliation boost could underfund the military in the future, and many hold Vought responsible for the confusion.
Vought has publicly opposed efforts by Democrats to balance defense spending increases with equal boosts to domestic programs. His initial budget proposal aimed to cut $163 billion from non-defense discretionary spending, while suggesting that about $120 billion could be added to legislation through reconciliation.
