- Elon Musk’s co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down from his position after reportedly upsetting Trump with a post saying American culture “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
Pharma billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy is out as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency a month after posting that American culture prized mediocrity, reportedly upsetting President Donald Trump.
In a lengthy post on X in December, Ramaswamy waded into the political discussion on American versus foreign-born workers and railed against a culture that he said had misplaced priorities.
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer)” he wrote. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
Trump was reportedly “privately unhappy” with Ramaswamy’s post, the New York Times reported citing people close to the president, and was not thrilled with being dragged into a high-profile fight on the subject. Ramaswamy’s screed was also criticized by Trump allies including former White House chief strategist and right-wing media figure Steve Bannon.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment. Ramaswamy is now reportedly planning to run for governor of Ohio.
The debate over H-1B visas, often employed by the tech industry to hire highly skilled workers, has split conservatives. While some hardliners like Bannon have come out against the visa program, Trump sided with “first buddy” Elon Musk when in December he said he "always liked" the program.
Apart from Trump, Ramaswamy also reportedly annoyed his co-head of DOGE, world’s richest man Musk, who made it known over the last few days that he wanted to get rid of Ramaswamy, Politico reported. Musk has been “sharply critical” of Ramaswamy behind the scenes, the New York Times reported.
Musk and Ramaswamy did not immediately reply to Fortune's request for comment.
After Trump reportedly told Ramaswamy he would be a good fit for the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President J.D. Vance, fellow Republican Mike DeWine instead appointed Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to the position.
“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,” Ramaswamy wrote on X Monday.
