Federal employees in the United States will face dismissal if they refuse to return to the office five days a week, under an ambitious new plan spearheaded by Elon Musk.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to slash $2trillion from the federal budget, led by the world's richest man alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The pair argue that American taxpayers should not fund civil servants who maintain "the Covid-era privilege of staying home".
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
The department is tasked with restructuring federal agencies and reducing spending by Independence Day 2026, marking America's 250th anniversary.
Musk, the 53-year-old Tesla and SpaceX founder, invested an estimated £200million in Trump's campaign.
Ramaswamy, 39, a former pharmaceutical company founder, joined forces with Trump after ending his own presidential bid.
Musk and Ramaswamy have taken aim at what they call "millions of unelected, unappointed civil servants" within government agencies.
In their Wall Street Journal article, the pair promised "mass headcount reductions across the federal bureaucracy".
They specifically targeted civil servants who resist returning to office-based work.
"If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them," the duo declared, signalling a stark departure from remote working arrangements established during the pandemic.
The pair outlined their authority to implement sweeping changes, stating that civil service statutes allow for "reductions in force that don't target specific employees".
"The statute further empowers the president to prescribe rules governing the competitive service," they wrote in their article.
They argued that Trump could implement various measures, including "large-scale firings" and the relocation of federal agencies away from Washington.
The initiative benefits from "a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court", they added.
The new department will target over $500billion in annual federal expenditures they claim are unauthorised by Congress or misused.
Their cost-cutting measures will affect organisations including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, international organisations and Planned Parenthood.
Trump has dubbed the Doge initiative "potentially the Manhattan project of our time", drawing parallels to the covert nuclear weapons programme.
The name Doge shares an acronym with a cryptocurrency that Musk has previously invested in.
Trump expressed strong support for the initiative, stating: "Together, 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."
He emphasised this was "essential to the Save America movement."
The ambitious restructuring programme has a symbolic deadline of July 4, 2026, coinciding with America's 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
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The initiative is part of a broader strategy to slash $2trillion from the federal budget, led by the world's richest man alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The pair argue that American taxpayers should not fund civil servants who maintain "the Covid-era privilege of staying home".
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
The department is tasked with restructuring federal agencies and reducing spending by Independence Day 2026, marking America's 250th anniversary.
Musk, the 53-year-old Tesla and SpaceX founder, invested an estimated £200million in Trump's campaign.
Ramaswamy, 39, a former pharmaceutical company founder, joined forces with Trump after ending his own presidential bid.
Musk and Ramaswamy have taken aim at what they call "millions of unelected, unappointed civil servants" within government agencies.
In their Wall Street Journal article, the pair promised "mass headcount reductions across the federal bureaucracy".
They specifically targeted civil servants who resist returning to office-based work.
"If federal employees don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't pay them," the duo declared, signalling a stark departure from remote working arrangements established during the pandemic.
The pair outlined their authority to implement sweeping changes, stating that civil service statutes allow for "reductions in force that don't target specific employees".
"The statute further empowers the president to prescribe rules governing the competitive service," they wrote in their article.
They argued that Trump could implement various measures, including "large-scale firings" and the relocation of federal agencies away from Washington.
The initiative benefits from "a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court", they added.
The new department will target over $500billion in annual federal expenditures they claim are unauthorised by Congress or misused.
Their cost-cutting measures will affect organisations including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, international organisations and Planned Parenthood.
Trump has dubbed the Doge initiative "potentially the Manhattan project of our time", drawing parallels to the covert nuclear weapons programme.
The name Doge shares an acronym with a cryptocurrency that Musk has previously invested in.
Trump expressed strong support for the initiative, stating: "Together, 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."
He emphasised this was "essential to the Save America movement."
The ambitious restructuring programme has a symbolic deadline of July 4, 2026, coinciding with America's 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Find Out More...