- Former DOGE co-czar Vivek Ramaswamy says he plans to pursue the federalist ideal of shrinking the U.S. government by running for office in his home state of Ohio.
Fox News didn’t pull punches when grilling Vivek Ramaswamy on why he left the so-called Department of Government Efficiency in his first appearance since he abruptly departed the project he was set to co-lead last week.
Presenter Jesse Watters mocked the biotech entrepreneur for lasting only “three Scaramuccis”—a term named after Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump’s former White House communications director, whose days in office in 2017 barely hit double digits.
Whether that’s a true measurement is unclear, since DOGE only existed unofficially prior to last Monday’s inauguration of Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy's stint as the leader of an official group was so brief it didn’t even last to see the sunset on day one of the new administration.
In his first opportunity to address his high-profile departure, Ramaswamy denied he had a falling-out with Elon Musk, the co-creator of DOGE.
“We had different—and complementary—approaches,” he said. Whereas Musk examined the issue through a technological mindset, “I focused more on a constitutional law, legislative-based approach.”
Instead, Ramaswamy packaged the decision as a nod to the conservative Republican ideal of federalism.
By aspiring to elected office in Ohio, he would be contributing in his own specific way to DOGE’s ultimate aim of shrinking centralized government in favor of states’ rights.
"The Ohio River valley can be at the bleeding edge of the American economy for the next 20 years," he told Watters.
He’s expected to mount a gubernatorial run in an election scheduled for November 2026—by which time DOGE is scheduled to have dissolved, with an expiration date of July 4, 2026, set for the department.
Asked point-blank about reports Musk had fired him, Ramaswamy claimed his abrupt departure stemmed from a “mutual discussion.”
“We’re on the same page, divide and conquer. In saving the country, it’s not a one-man show from the top down or the bottom up, it’s all of the above, and that’s what I’m in for,” he said.
Ramaswamy disappeared from public view after social media rant
During the presidential primaries, Ramaswamy’s brash energy initially helped set himself apart from more traditional GOP hopefuls like Mike Pence, and launch his political career when Trump’s legal problems left it unclear whether he could seek the nomination.
But his regular changes of opinion caused Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of the conservative news and opinion publication National Review, to accuse Ramaswamy of running a “fundamentally cynical campaign” that lacked consistent principles.
“He exudes such an aura of insincerity, you have the distinct feeling that if neo-conservatism were still in fashion, he’d eagerly out-Cheney Liz Cheney.”
Just like Scaramucci, who flamed out following an expletive-filled rant about Trump ally Steve Bannon, Ramaswamy’s own words ultimately did him in.
Following a now-infamous social media post in mid-December in which he criticized native-born Americans for prizing "mediocrity over excellence," Ramaswamy all but disappeared from public view.
