Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are bringing Trump’s DOGE to Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s DOGE time at the U.S. Capitol.

Billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy arrived Tuesday on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators behind closed doors about President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to “dismantle” the federal government.

Trump tapped the two business titans to head his Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with firing federal workers, cutting government programs and slashing federal regulations — all part of what he calls his “Save America” agenda for a second term in the White House.

“We’re going to see a lot of change around here in Washington,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, as Musk, with a small child on his shoulders, breezed by and into the private meeting.

Washington has seen this before, with ambitious efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal government that historically have run into resistance when the public is confronted with cuts to trusted programs that millions of Americans depend on for jobs, health care, military security and everyday needs.

But this time Trump is staffing his administration with battle-tested architects of sweeping proposals, some outlined in Project 2025, to severely reduce and reshape the government. Musk and Ramaswamy said they plan to work alongside the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, headed by Trump’s nominee Russ Vought, a mastermind of past cuts.

“DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. “We are prepared for the onslaught.”

The duo, invited for what Johnson called a “brainstorming” session as they begin this “journey” together, face a first test in private with House and Senate lawmakers — some eager to hear what they have in mind.

“I am fired up to go out and do something,” said Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who joined with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in launching what they are calling the DOGE caucus in the House, with more than 50 Republicans and two Democratic members.

Bean said the DOGE caucus will unveil an email tip line where people can report wasteful spending. He also envisions a scoreboard of sorts that people can view on a website showing “how many positions we’ve cut, agencies we’ve cut, what the actual number is.”