U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel suggested that Democrats should “welcome” the establishment of President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). In an interview with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein on Monday, Emanuel stated, “I would say welcome it.
And I would say 100 percent ready to meet with you, so let’s go and have a full agenda that puts them on their back foot.” He further commented that Republicans will need to reconcile their stated principles with their true interests.
Trump envisions DOGE as a panel that will offer advice and guidance to enhance governmental efficiency
As a potential candidate for the upcoming Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair position, Emanuel invoked a quote from baseball legend Yogi Berra, saying, “The part of a political strategy is you put people in, as Yogi Berra used to say, where you get to the fork in the road, take it.” The former Chicago mayor expressed his intention to adopt a collaborative approach rather than resistance.
Emanuel, who previously served as chief of staff under President Obama, expressed enthusiasm for reform, stating, “People want to reform something, change something. I’m 100 percent for it. Let’s go. Couldn’t be more excited. Ready to meet today,” and indicated that he had a proactive agenda with “10 items” prepared.
Tasked with leading DOGE, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have announced plans for the panel to identify “thousands” of regulations for elimination, which they claim will support “mass head-count reductions” within the government.
Trump has also mentioned that the panel will “provide advice and guidance” from outside the government. Despite the ambitions for DOGE, some experts warn that the panel may encounter significant challenges due to its advisory capacity.
Earlier in the discussion, Emanuel referenced former Vice President Al Gore’s 1993 initiative in the Clinton administration, known as the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, as a model for how Democrats might approach government reform.
He noted, “It worked on reforming government. It also worked on funding public safety and other initiatives that Democrats cared about. We should be against government rules.”
