Vivek Ramaswamy announces run for Ohio guv, parting ways with DOGE

CV NEWS FEED // Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President Trump recently named co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk, is stepping down from DOGE to run for governor of Ohio.

Ramaswamy wrote on X (formerly Twitter) just hours after Trump’s inauguration ceremony: “It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!” 

A spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition team, Anna Kelly, said in a statement: “Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE.” 

“He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today,” Kelly continued. “We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again.”

Ramaswamy’s move to part ways with DOGE comes just months after its creation. 

In November, Trump released a statement saying “I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.” 

“Together,” Trump added, “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 – Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement.”

Ramaswamy just recently emerged as a political figure, entering the 2024 presidential race in 2023. After finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses, he endorsed Trump in the GOP primary. 

He is known for his focus on returning to traditional ideals and abandoning the emphasis on identity politics that has recently swept the nation. 

In an interview with National Public Radio, Ramaswamy said, “I will unapologetically embrace and advance the ideals that this nation was founded on.” 

“That is distinct from an opposite movement in this country,” he continued, “which increasingly wishes to apologize for a nation founded on those ideals, to apologize or moderate free speech or meritocracy or the rule of law evenly applied, or the idea that citizens can be trusted to sort out their differences on questions like climate change or racial equity.”