President Donald Trump had barely been sworn in on Monday before reports began to circulate that businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, whom he had tapped as incoming co-chair of a newly revamped Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), would not be taking on that role.
The confirmation came just hours after a source close to multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News that he was no longer affiliated with DOGE.
Ramaswamy, who was appointed alongside Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, by Trump in November to lead DOGE, is now expected to announce a Republican campaign for Ohio governor early next week, according to the source.
“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Anna Kelly, said in a statement to Fox News. “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.”
Not long afterward, Ramaswamy took to his social media pages to make an announcement.
“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. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!” he wrote.
Ohio GOP Governor Mike DeWine, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026, announced on Friday that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by now-Vice President J.D. Vance, who stepped down earlier this month ahead of Monday’s inauguration to assume his new role.
Prior to the Senate appointment, Husted had been preparing to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy had previously expressed interest in serving in the Senate.
DeWine’s decision to appoint Husted to the vacant Senate seat appears to have spurred Ramaswamy’s move toward running for governor, Fox added.
Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, quickly rose from a long-shot candidate to a serious contender for the Republican nomination.
Running on what he termed an “America First 2.0” agenda, Ramaswamy became one of Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters among his rivals, calling Trump the “most successful president of our century.”
Ramaswamy ended his White House bid a year ago following a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and swiftly endorsed Trump, becoming a prominent surrogate on the campaign trail.
His departure now seems to pave the way for Elon Musk, Trump’s top donor and key ally, to lead DOGE without having to share the spotlight.
“The move also comes a couple of weeks after Ramswamy and Musk sparked a firestorm among Trump’s hard core MAGA supporters over their support for H-1B temporary worker visas for highly skilled workers from foreign countries,” Fox noted.
“Ramaswamy’s comments criticizing an American culture that he said ‘venerated mediocrity over excellence’ received plenty of pushback from some leading voices on the right as well as some in Trump’s political circle,” the outlet added.
Ohio native Ramaswamy has a superior chance in the state. Not only has it shifted from a legitimate battleground about a decade ago to solid red in recent election cycles, but the state is Trump country.
And as a leading surrogate for, and onetime official of, Trump’s new administration, no matter how shortlived, he could quickly become a leading contender for the state’s top elected office.
His support for the new vice president and now former Ohio senator will also likely improve his chances.