On the 30th of last month, Elon Musk resigned from his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration, and the New York Times (NYT) reported on the 10th that recent candidates for the next DOGE head are being discussed within the administration.
According to the NYT, citing anonymous administration officials, detailed discussions about Musk's successor are taking place not only at the White House but also in Silicon Valley, where DOGE and Musk's base are located. Musk led budget cuts and reductions in the number of federal employees as the head of the newly established DOGE in the Trump administration that launched last January, but he stepped down to focus on managing Tesla.
The most prominent candidate for the DOGE head position is Joe Gebbia, the founder of Airbnb. Gebbia is a member of the Tesla board and a longtime associate of Musk, joining DOGE in February. He has been leading a project to digitize the federally operated retirement procedures for federal employees.
However, according to the NYT, Gebbia is negative about leading DOGE alone, as taking on an official role to lead DOGE by himself would likely draw significant attention from the public, similar to what Musk experienced. For this reason, a plan for a small group of advisors, including Gebbia, to jointly manage DOGE is being discussed, and some sources have reported that Gebbia is positively reviewing this option.
The NYT reported, "Gebbia is focused on technology-related projects to digitize the government retirement system, which has support from both parties," adding, "Due to this background, some DOGE team members have high expectations for Gebbia's leadership."
The White House is keeping its comments to a minimum. The White House Spokesperson noted, "Gebbia has specifically stated that he will not take on the role of DOGE manager," and mentioned that in the previous Trump administration, the role of DOGE head was handled by Amy Gleeson. Amy Gleeson is a former employee of the digital service, which was the predecessor of DOGE.
Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley employee, is also being mentioned as a candidate for the DOGE management position alongside Gebbia as Musk's successor. Armstrong is reportedly the chief advisor for the DOGE personnel management office and is currently affiliated with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He became associated with Musk through his involvement in the acquisition of Twitter (now X).
There are also projections that Russell Boat, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (49), will take over Musk's role. Previously, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Boat has claimed that the federal government has been dominated by leftist bureaucrats and has advocated for the dismantling of the 'deep state' (shadow government). It was then suggested that Boat may seek to reduce the federal government's authority and maximize the power of the president and the White House.
The U.S. daily, USA Today, emphasized again that "the work of DOGE, which carried out extensive cuts across the federal government, has not ended," while also noting that "it is uncertain whether DOGE will operate as aggressively as before without Musk." DOGE is expected to continue operations until July 2026, in accordance with an executive order signed by President Trump.