Vivek Ramaswamy, chosen by President-elect Donald Trump as co-leader of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said on Sunday that the agency will focus on “mass reductions” and combat “bureaucratic pushback.”

In an interview on Sunday Morning Futures with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Ramaswamy shared that he and DOGE co-leader Elon Musk will work together to eliminate redundant federal agencies and improve the efficiency of others.

Ramaswamy explained that DOGE would focus on holding federal agency employees accountable, potentially through mass firings. He emphasized that many government workers lack efficiency because, unlike elected officials, they face little risk of removal. Bartiromo then asked how Ramaswamy and Musk would respond to potential resistance from Congress and the agencies themselves.

“You’re gonna have pushback, not just from the Left. You may have pushback from those very people who are running those departments, running those agencies,” Bartiromo said. “They want as many people as they want in there. You’re gonna want to fire people. So, how are you going to deal with that, you’re also, perhaps, looking from pushback from Congress?”

Ramaswamy acknowledged that many congressional allies “have their heart in the right place,” but pointed out that despite decades of promises from Republican politicians to cut wasteful spending, they have failed to deliver on those commitments.

“Elon and I, we’re not politicians. We’re businessmen, we’re coming from the outside. Sometimes if you go inside, you become native to the system,” he told the Fox News host. “President Trump, I applaud him for his creativity and his openminded-ness for setting this up for success in a way that hasn’t happened before.”

WATCH:

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo presses Vivek Ramaswamy on how Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will deal with bureaucratic “pushback.” pic.twitter.com/wCtlGAtpsy

— Julianna Frieman (@JuliannaFrieman) November 17, 2024

Ramaswamy said the incoming Trump administration must “score quick wins” to make longstanding changes to the U.S. government, setting the stage for congressional progress.

“I’m optimistic. It’s part of why we’ve set an end date on this. Our work is done by July 4, 2026. Unlike every other government project, we don’t want this one to last,” Ramaswamy said.

“These congressmen are responsive to the people,” he added. “Many of them are quietly on our side as well.”

Bartiromo asked if DOGE would shut down entire federal agencies, to which Ramaswamy said it would.

“We expect mass reductions. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions en force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts in federal contractors and others who are over-billing the federal government. So, yes, we expect all of the above, and I think people will be surprised by, I think, how quickly we’re able to move with some of those changes given the legal backdrop the Supreme Court has given us,” he said.

WATCH:

Will entire agencies be deleted? Answer: yes. pic.twitter.com/QPe5VNGDhr

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 17, 2024