Department of Government Efficiency Co-Lead Vivek Ramaswamy Criticizes Biden Administration’s Last-Minute Spending Spree
Vivek Ramaswamy, co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and former U.S. presidential candidate, has criticized the Biden administration’s last-minute spending spree, citing several examples of what he considers to be indefensible spending. Ramaswamy, who will run DOGE with Elon Musk under President-elect Trump, emphasized that any “eleventh-hour spending” deserves special scrutiny.
Ramaswamy pointed to a recent $6.6 billion loan to EV maker Rivian Automotive as an example of the Biden administration’s last-minute spending spree. He questioned whether the loan will be paid back, describing it as a “fiduciary breach.” The Department of Energy (DOE) is also planning to loan up to $7.54 billion to a joint venture of Chrysler parent Stellantis and Samsung SDI to help build two electric vehicle lithium-ion battery plants in Indiana.
Ramaswamy compared the Biden administration’s last-minute spending to a company firing a CEO and CFO, who in their final days approve spending from a term sheet but the money has not been yet dispensed. “The board would review it,” he said.
Ramaswamy also expressed concerns about the potential conflicts of interest that may arise when DOGE, which is designed to auto-delete as an agency in 18 months, begins to review government spending. He emphasized the importance of applying a skeptical lens to recommendations made by government officials, including those with potential conflicts of interest.
Despite his criticism of the Biden administration’s spending spree, Ramaswamy resisted the idea of “cherry-picking” specific examples of wasteful spending, stating that DOGE will prioritize what is most important and use “early wins” to build on, and then go further in a “logical, measured but aggressive” way in targeting government waste and fraud.