The Fall of Vivek Ramaswamy was as Abrupt as His Rise 

Vivek Ramaswamy is departing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  to run for governor of Ohio, leaving Tesla CEO Elon Musk  the sole person to lead the cost-efficiency group. Trump tapped the two billionaires to lead the DOGE shortly after his reelection last year, promising to cut down on federal spending and slash federal jobs that the nongovernmental task force deems unnecessary. 

Ramaswamy confirmed his exit from DOGE on X. “It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE,” he wrote today (Jan. 20).  “I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government.” Earlier this morning, the 39-year-old Indian American was seen at President Trump’s inauguration. 

Ramaswamy’s remarks were part of a repost of a statement by a DOGE commission’s spokesperson, Anna Kelly, who told news outlets he “played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” thanked him “immensely for his contributions over the last two months.” 

The Indian American entrepreneur was among candidates being considered to replace Vice President JD Vance’s U.S. Senate seat. But Gov. Mike DeWine chose Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, instead of him, which “accelerated” his decision to run for Ohio governor, according to Politico. Ramaswamy is expected to launch his gubernatorial campaign sometime next week. The governor’s seat is up for election in November 2026.

Before his DOGE appointment, it seemed that Ramaswamy would at least get a Cabinet position. There was speculation that the person who was once in the shortlist of Trump’s running mate, could be considered for the Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, or Health and Human Services given his background as an entrepreneur and head of a pharmaceutical company. 

But instead, he found himself under Musk’s shadow, and although both of them were co-chairs of DOGE,  the Tesla CEO  “has a much greater amount of wealth and a higher profile,” The New York Time noted, adding that Musk’s “top lieutenant” Steve Davis” largely runs the projects.”

To add to that, Ramaswamy’s remarks on immigration, especially the H1-B visa, didn’t help. He was criticized by several in MAGA circles, and he faced backlash on social media for his support of the visa program over the training and hiring of American workers. He suggested Americans were not being hired because they were mediocre. “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer),” he wrote on X. “That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.” 

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Several of Trump’s aides told The New York Times that Ramaswamy’s position in the president’s “orbit has been tenuous for weeks,” irritating everyone around him, including Musk. In private conversations with Trump, Musk has been critical of his DOGE co-chair, they told The Times. 

Similarly, a Republican strategist close to Trump told Politico that Ramaswamy had “irked” some in the now president’s close circle. “He just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon,” the strategist said. “Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of D.C.”

Semafor reported last week that Ramaswamy’s interest in running for governor was apparent at a town hall Springfield in September, where he discussed the city’s recent influx of migrants. When an attendee asked whether he would consider running for governor in the upcoming 2026 election, Ramaswamy said he’s “a little more inclined than I was about 10 seconds ago.”