Ramaswamy Will Bow Out of DOGE and Run for Governor in Ohio

The advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency is losing one of its leaders before it even begins.

Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President Trump named in November as co-leader of the initiative alongside Elon Musk, will quit the project because he plans to run for governor of Ohio.

“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” said Anna Kelly, a spokeswoman for the White House, adding, “We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last two months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again!”

Mr. Ramaswamy’s position in Mr. Trump’s orbit has been tenuous for weeks as he irritated the president, several of Mr. Trump’s aides and, crucially, Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk has been sharply critical of Mr. Ramaswamy in private conversations.

Mr. Ramaswamy plans to announce his bid for governor of Ohio next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Mr. Trump announced the two billionaires to be co-leaders of the project, but it was an unequal partnership from the start. Mr. Musk has a much greater amount of wealth and a higher profile, and a top lieutenant of Mr. Musk, Steve Davis, largely runs the project.

Some allies of Mr. Ramaswamy insisted until recently that he was not immediately leaving his position. Mr. Ramaswamy has told others close to him that he would not begin a bid in Ohio until much later in 2025, and so he was working to explore a campaign for governor even as he remained a partner with Mr. Musk in the project.

But Mr. Ramaswamy recently came to see the idea of coleading the efficiency effort and running for office at the same time as unworkable, the person familiar with the matter said. The governor’s seat is up for election in November 2026, and officials at the advisory group are expected to offer recommendations for reducing federal spending by July 4, 2026.

The decision came after Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Mr. Ramaswamy was also a contender for the vacancy, and Mr. Trump recently told him that he would be a good fit.

It also followed Mr. Ramaswamy’s comments blaming an American culture that venerated “mediocrity over excellence” for top tech companies often hiring foreign-born engineers. People close to Mr. Trump said he was unhappy about Mr. Ramaswamy wading into the online debate over H-1B visas among conservatives, many of whom saw Mr. Ramaswamy’s comments as critical of American workers.

The Department of Government Efficiency is not an official government department, despite its name. In November, Mr. Trump said the entity would provide outside advice on how to cut spending and work closely with White House budget officials.

Mr. Musk arrived in Washington for Mr. Trump’s inauguration and was seen spending time on Sunday afternoon at the SpaceX headquarters in downtown Washington, which is where most of Mr. Musk’s and Mr. Ramaswamy’s team operates. Mr. Ramaswamy is also in Washington for Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

Mr. Ramaswamy had enthusiastically merged his brand with that of the project. He changed his biography on Mr. Musk’s social media platform, X, to “small-government crusader” and shared a picture of himself at the beach reading Congressional Budget Office reports on options for reducing the deficit.

In November, Mr. Trump initially said that the “Great Elon Musk” would work alongside “American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy” on the project. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” he said at the time.

On Monday morning, Mr. Ramaswamy posted on X “a new dawn” along with a photo of him and Mr. Musk.