Ramaswamy won't serve on Trump's government efficiency commission as he mulls run for Ohio governor

Vivek Ramaswamy arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.(Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP)

Vivek Ramaswamy is no longer part of the government efficiency commission that U.S. President Donald Trump selected him to lead alongside billionaire Elon Musk.

Ramaswamy’s departure from the Department of Government Efficiency was confirmed hours after Trump took office Monday.

Ramaswamy, who sought the 2024 Republican nomination for president, has signaled plans to run for governor of Ohio.

“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the commission, said in a statement. ”He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today. 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, the son of Indian immigrants, made hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research, a career he charted and built while graduating from Harvard University and then Yale Law School. He brought to his president campaign the same approach he used to coax money from investors even when the drugs he promoted never made it to the market.

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Cooper from Phoenix.