Vivek Ramaswamy’s short and rocky tenure in Washington isn’t turning off Republican voters in his home state.

Vice President JD Vance's political team, including two top advisors, is joining Vivek Ramaswamy's soon-to-be announced 2026 Ohio gubernatorial run, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News.

The news follows conversations between Ramaswamy and Vance, who until he stepped down earlier this month to assume the vice presidency was a senator from Ohio, added the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, for weeks has been putting the pieces together to launch a gubernatorial campaign in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election.

"Expect Vivek to announce his candidacy in mid-February," the source told Fox News.

RAMASWAMY DONE AT DOGE AS HE HEADS BACK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Ramaswamy was among the contenders who challenged President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before dropping out of the race and becoming a top Trump ally and surrogate.

The two Vance advisors are Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria, who played major roles in Vance's 2022 Senate race and in his vice presidential campaign last summer and autumn, after Trump named the first-term senator as his running mate.

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED WORKER IMIMGRATION

The Ohio-based Chabria, a veteran in Buckeye State politics, is expected to serve as the Ramaswamy campaign's general consultant.

Surabian, who is also a top advisor to Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son and a top figure in the MAGA movement, will steer an outside political group allied with Ramaswamy.

Tony Fabrizio, the veteran Republican pollster who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns, as well as Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, is also on board, according to the source, as is Arthur Schwartz, another close ally to Vance and Donald Trump Jr.

Vance, who has known Ramaswamy since they both studied at Yale Law School, has put his imprint on Ohio politics since winning his 2022 Senate election in the one-time key battleground state that has shifted to the right over the past decade.

Vance endorsed now-Sen. Bernie Moreno ahead of his 2024 GOP Senate primary victory, and key members of Vance's political team steered Moreno's campaign.

"It should not come as a surprise that JD's top operatives are working with Vivek, given that JD and Vivek have had a longtime friendship," a source in Vance's political orbit told Fox News.

A longtime Ohio-based Republican operative, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, said Vance is "sending a message" with this move.

He added that the advisors joining the Ramaswamy effort are "an all-star caliber campaign team."

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Also part of that team, according to the source, are three veterans from Ramaswamy's White House campaign – Ben Yoho, Mike Biundo and Chris Grant.

Ramaswamy, who's now 39 years old, launched his presidential campaign in February 2023 and quickly saw his stock rise as he went from a long shot to a contender for the Republican nomination.

He campaigned on what he called an "America First 2.0" agenda and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the field of rivals, calling Trump the "most successful president in our century."

Ramaswamy dropped his White House bid a year ago after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail.

Trump, in the days after his November presidential election victory, named Elon Musk, the world's richest person, along with Ramaswamy, to steer the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which is better known by its acronym DOGE.

But last Monday, as Trump was inaugurated, the new administration announced that Ramaswamy was no longer serving at DOGE. Ramaswamy's exit appears to clear the way for Musk, Trump's top donor and key ally, to steer DOGE without having to share the limelight.

"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!," Ramaswamy wrote. 

DeWine announced a week and a half ago that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by Vance until he stepped down ahead of the Trump/Vance inauguration.

Before the Senate announcement, Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. Ramaswamy, for his part, had expressed interest in serving in the Senate. 

DeWine's decision to choose Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to accelerate Ramaswamy's move toward launching a run for governor.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a major Trump ally in the Senate, on Monday endorsed Ramswamy's all-but-certain gubernatorial bid.

"I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Vivek G. Ramaswamy, and he is totally focused on trying to save our country," Scott said in a social media post.

"Ohioans want a shakeup in Columbus just as much as in Washington, and Vivek Ramaswamy is the bold leader to bring that change," attorney and political commentator Mehek Cooke, who was in the running to be named to Vance’s Senate seat that ultimately went to Husted, shaking up the gubernatorial race, told Fox News Digital. 

"Already gaining strong favor among Ohio conservatives, his high name ID and unwavering energy make him a formidable force for Governor. Much like President Trump, Vivek will bring a commitment to job creation, efficiency, and bold leadership. A businessman at heart, he knows how to drive economic growth, while as a father, he prioritizes merit over mediocrity for the future of Ohio’s children. With a powerful team led by seasoned strategists Vivek has the winning combination of grassroots support and strong fundraising to make Ohio economically vibrant and secure for all us."

The race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination could be competitive. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 68, announced late last week his candidacy for governor.

"This is my heart, my home," Yost said in a Thursday press release announcing his candidacy. "I work for the people of Ohio, and I love my bosses. From the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night, I'm thinking about them and our future."

Yost is also bringing in campaign staff from the Trump world and announced that former Trump campaign official Justin Clark has joined the Yost campaign as a general consultant. 

"Justin is nationally recognized for winning some of the most hotly contested races in the country," Amy Natoce, Yost campaign spokeswoman and senior advisor, told Fox News Digital. "As a longtime advisor to President Trump, he knows what it means to work with conservative America First candidates like Dave Yost. His experience is invaluable and we’re thrilled to have him on our team." 

Ramaswamy's move to run for governor also comes a couple of weeks after he 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.

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.

Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.

The rebranding of a former White House digital office into the new Department of Government Efficiency signals its potential limits, budget experts said.

What makes this dynamic in the new Trump administration so fascinating?

The billionaire decided he could not campaign while helping lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, but tensions with Elon Musk were also evident.

Their lawsuits said the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, President Trump’s cost-cutting operation, violated a law requiring federal advisory committees to include a balance of views.

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is done at President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

The confirmation came a couple of hours after a source close to the multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur told Fox News Digital that Ramaswamy was no longer with DOGE.

And Ramaswamy, who along with Elon Musk, the world's richest person, was tapped in November by Trump to steer DOGE, is expected to launch 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."

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED WORKER IMIMGRATION

Soon after, Ramaswamy took to social media to put out a statement.

"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.

GOP Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.

DeWine on Friday announced that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would fill the U.S. Senate seat that was held by former Sen. JD Vance until earlier this month, when the vice president stepped down ahead of Monday's inauguration.

Before the Senate announcement, Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. Ramaswamy, for his part, had expressed interest in serving in the Senate. 

DeWine's decision to choose Husted to fill the vacant Senate seat appeared to accelerate Ramaswamy's move toward launching a run for governor.

Ramaswamy, 39, who launched his presidential campaign in February 2023, saw his stock rise as he went from a long shot to a contender for the Republican nomination.

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Ramaswamy campaigned on what he called an "America First 2.0" agenda and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the field of rivals, calling Trump the "most successful president in our century."

He dropped his White House bid a year ago after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail.

Ramaswamy's exit appears to clear the way for Musk, Trump's top donor and key ally, to steer DOGE without having to share the limelight.

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.

Ramaswamy's comments criticizing an American culture that he said "venerated mediocrity over excellence" received plenty of pushback from leading voices on the far right.

Ohio, which was once a top general election battleground, has shifted red over the past decade as Republicans have dominated statewide elections.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who was also seen as a possible replacement for the vice president-elect, is widely expected to run for governor of Ohio instead.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk’s partner in an effort to cut government costs, could make decisions that ultimately make him and his investors richer.

Mr. Musk has turned to Silicon Valley to help recruit executives who will take up unofficial positions across the federal government.

Aides for Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are starting to interview staffers with the federal government for the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a new report. 

Representatives for DOGE have had conversations with staffers from more than a dozen federal agencies — including the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, The Washington Post reported Friday. 

Musk and Ramaswamy are leading DOGE, a blue-ribbon committee separate from the federal government that seeks to address issues concerning government spending, waste, efficiency and operations. They are expected to suggest executive actions for the Trump administration and partner with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to initiate reforms. 

Altogether, the committee aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce. 

AMERICA'S NEWEST GOVERNOR TAKES PAGE FROM TRUMP WITH DOGE-LIKE COMMISSION

However, Musk recently cast doubt on the likelihood of eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget and said there was a better chance at cutting $1 trillion. 

"I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s like the best-case outcome," Musk said during tech trade show CES on Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Post reported. "But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion]."

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have voiced support for working with DOGE, and Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, announced the creation of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus last year. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING 

"Our national debt has surpassed a staggering $36 trillion and should be a wakeup call for all Americans," House DOGE Caucus Co-Chair Bean said in a statement in November. "We must take action to avoid diving headfirst off the cliff of fiscal ruin. I’m thrilled with President-elect Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE, but taking on Crazy Town will be no easy task — they will need partners."

Likewise, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is slated to oversee the Senate DOGE Caucus.

"The tables are finally turning, the knives are out, and waste is on the chopping block," Ernst said in a November statement. 

Currently, DOGE boasts a staff of approximately 50 people who are working from SpaceX’s offices in Washington, D.C., and it is aiming to roughly double that number when President-elect Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20, according to the Post. 

A representative for Ramaswamy declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital.

DOGE appears to be the source of inspiration for other similar initiatives at the state level. For example, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of swing state New Hampshire on Thursday announced the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, known as COGE.

"COGE will make us smarter than ever before when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of our state," Ayotte said in her inaugural address. 

EXCLUSIVE: The nation's Republican governors are making clear their "overwhelming support" for President-elect Trump's planned "Department of Government Efficiency," better known by its acronym DOGE.

In a letter to Congressional leaders that was shared first with Fox News on Friday, the governors said they fully support DOGE and emphasized the importance of balancing the federal budget.

"As chief executives for our states, we know a thing or two about streamlining government, removing unnecessary bureaucracy, and bringing efficient, result-driven solutions to state government.  We stand by President Trump as he works to do the same with the federal government," the governors said.

AMERICA'S NEWEST GOVERNOR TAKES PAGE FROM TRUMP BY SETTING UP DOGE-LIKE COMMISSION

Days after his presidential election victory in November, Trump tapped Elon Musk, the world's richest person, and former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to steer DOGE.

The House of Representatives has set up an oversight subcommittee and the Senate has formed a DOGE caucus to work with Musk and Ramaswamy.

QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT DOGE ARE ANSWERED HERE

The governors highlighted that "our states are successful because we live within our means. We balance our budgets, lower taxes, leverage surpluses, pay down debt, improve the efficiency of state governments, and create an environment where our constituents can build a prosperous future for themselves, their family, and their community."

And they emphasized that "it is past time for Washington to live within its means too. We support President Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and agree with their assertion that the federal government needs to be cut down to size. We stand ready to help." 

Led by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) policy chair Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, the letter was also signed by RGA chair Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and 24 other GOP governors.

They are Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Sarah Sanders of Arkansas, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brad Little of Idaho, Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Greg Abbott of Texas, Spencer Cox of Utah, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Jim Justice of West Virginia, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.

The only one of the 27 Republican governors who didn't sign the letter was Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont. While a longstanding member of the RGA, Scott has a history of not attaching his name to many of their letters.

The letter was sent the day after many of the GOP governors dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sparked a debate in December when they advocated allowing more legal immigration for high-skilled workers – for example, through H-1B visas – to make America more competitive. President-elect Donald J. Trump endorsed the policy in a statement to the New York Post shortly after the dispute broke out. 

Conservatives on both sides of this discussion should be able to agree on one thing: we would not need to import as much talent if we had a more effective education system. 

The latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the "nation’s report card," shows that fewer than one-in-four eighth grade students are proficient in math and less than a third of them are proficient in reading. The latest international assessment shows that we’re ranked 24th in math – in the middle of the pack – despite spending nearly $20,000 per public school student each year, more than just about any other country in the world.  

NEW JERSEY ENDS BASIC READING AND WRITING SKILLS TEST REQUIREMENT FOR TEACHERS

U.S. 4th grade math scores have fallen 18 points since 2019 – a decline larger than all but three countries: Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan. 

We can start fixing the education crisis by improving the efficiency of educational resource allocation. Mountains of empirical evidence in economics research indicate that misallocation is one of the greatest impediments to economic growth for a nation, as well as the educational services sub-sector. To that end, improving the efficiency of public education can go a long way in producing multiplier effects for a nation as a whole. 

Trump appointed both Musk and Ramaswamy to head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in November. In his statement announcing DOGE’s new leaders, Trump said his administration will "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." 

It’s no secret waste runs rampant through our public school system. The U.S. spends over $900 billion per year on education for lackluster results. The current system is not serving the students, and makes teachers’ lives more difficult, so now is the time to start thinking about how to get bigger bang for our buck in the Department of Education. We need to inventory where current resources are going, and what outcomes they’re driving – plain and simple. 

But tackling this apparent low-hanging fruit can only do so much to cut waste. After all, about 90% of all public-school funding comes from state and local sources, not the federal government.  

That’s why we have to understand the root cause behind the deteriorating student outcomes. A major potential factor is administrative bloat in American education. The latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that student enrollment has only increased by about 5% since 2000, but the number of teachers employed by the system has grown twice as fast as students, by about 10%, over the same period. School district administrative staff has increased by about 95%, or 19 times the rate of student enrollment growth. 

We’ve increased inflation-adjusted spending per student by more than 160% since 1970 and the teachers aren’t seeing the money. Teacher salaries have only increased by 3% in real terms over the same period. 

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The problem is that the public school system operates as a monopoly with weaker incentives to spend money wisely. But public-school unions do have a strong incentive to advocate for hiring more people, particularly in states that do not have right-to-work laws. Additional staffing means more dues-paying members and a larger voting bloc. 

Our just-released study provides the first evidence that unions are driving administrative bloat in education. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the American Community Survey between 2006 and 2024, we find a robust positive relationship between union density and staff-to-student ratios, and negative effects of right-to-work laws (RTW) on these ratios. These effects are largely driven by the expansion of administrative and support roles rather than teachers. Furthermore, these effects are concentrated in non-RTW states. 

Specifically, we find that a 10-point increase in teachers union density is associated with a one-point increase in year-to-year staffing growth. 

In Chicago, a union stronghold, staffing has increased by a whopping 20% since 2019 even though student enrollment has plunged 10%. In Texas, one of six states that outlaws collective bargaining for public employees, staffing has increased by 8% – much closer to their 2% growth in student enrollment – over the same period. Our results in the study show that these examples are not anecdotal – it’s been happening at scale. 

Injecting competition into the K-12 education system would put pressure on school districts to redirect otherwise wasteful spending into the classroom. Trump can help make this happen by getting congressional Republicans in-line to pass school choice. The Educational Choice for Children Act already passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee last September and President-elect Trump said he would sign it.  

Improving the efficiency of government should be a non-partisan issue, especially in a sector that hits so close to home for every American – education. It’s now up to Congress to deliver for the parents who put them in office. Allowing parents to direct the upbringing of their children is the right thing to do, but it will also make America more competitive and make education great again. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY CHRISTOS MAKRIDIS

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It’s a culture not of success but of survival.

Spending on contracting and supplies is the second-biggest major spending group for the federal government, according to usaspending.gov. More than $1.1 trillion was spent on deals negotiated by the government to hire contractors for work. The category has increased by 19% from five years ago. 

"We expect massive cuts of all federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government," said DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy on Fox Business’ Sunday Morning Futures.

Contracting commercial companies for government goods and services dates back to the late 1700s. Over the years, laws have streamlined the process and helped make contracts more competitive. 

"We're on the side of change. We got started by helping the Navy and then the Army get ready for World War Two to move faster, to do things better," Booz Allen Hamilton CEO Horacio Rozanski said. "Now we're the largest player in AI and cyber in the federal government, and we're very proud of that whole history. But that's a whole history of change. My sense is we're ready for change. The country voted for it, and we need to see it happen."

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS 'ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION' AMID OUTRAGE OVER DOGE FEDERAL WORKFORCE CUTS, GOP LEADER SAYS

Booz Allen Hamilton is among the largest government contractors. In 2024, the company had more than $8 billion worth in agreements from agencies like the Defense Department, the General Services Administration and the National Science Foundation. 

"One of the things we've been talking about for years is this notion of outcome-based contracting. Instead of trying to figure out what does everything cost and how to do it. Let's define an outcome, something that the government really needs, and let private industry compete for that," Rozanski said. 

Federal agencies are responsible for negotiating the best deal for the government, but contractors have a history of overcharging. In 2014, a Defense Department Inspector General report showed that the agency was charged as much as 831% for spare parts. Another more recent audit found a 7,943% markup on a soap dispenser sold to the Air Force. 

Military contractors are only required to provide an explanation for prices if the contract is worth more than $2 million. If an item is labeled as "commercial," companies do not have to justify prices. 

'WE'RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH': REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE'S MUSK, RAMASWAMY

In 2023, Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay $377.45 million to settle allegations that the company improperly billed commercial and international costs to its government contracts. 

"I think part of the challenge is the system. This system is built to manage risk and to get things done with the lowest risk possible. It is not built for speed," Rozanski said. "We need DOGE to succeed in shifting towards efficiency, towards effectiveness. It's what our clients want, it's what we want. Will there be winners and losers in that? Of course. I expect I want Booz Allen to be a winner in that. But at the end of the day, we need to compete."

The Department of Defense obligated around $550 billion to government contracts in 2024, more than half of all government spending on contractors. Some analysts estimate the department could save millions by streamlining negotiations. 

"They're for reducing some of the bureaucracy, but they're also for understanding that there is a difference. To paint the entire federal government, the giant DMV is not fair," Rozanski said. "There are all these areas where more can be done to do it faster, to do it better or to not do it at all, to get things done."

Some small businesses say that DOGE likely won’t have an impact on their work. 

"From a sort of an efficiency standpoint, we all of us have to operate at the optimum level of efficiency," Arkisys co-founder Dave Barnhart said. "I'm not quite sure that'll have an effect, because we're essentially already operating as quickly as we possibly can within the U.S. government."

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: A DOGE IN THE FIGHT

Arkisys has a contract with the Space Development Agency, which is part of the Space Force. The Port would give service providers, making repairs in space, a permanent station to deliver cargo or supplies. The federal government has specific contracts set aside for small businesses that helps level the playing field. 

"This particular arena of space and most especially the domain that we are talking about, which is servicing, that is doing something to a spacecraft in space after its launch, hasn't been done before. It's a wide-open research area. All kinds of innovation can happen," Barnhart said. 

Other small business owners say they believe DOGE could help make the contracting process move faster. 

"One day you come up with the idea quickly. You got to get the funding and you got to develop it," Aspetto co-founder Abbas Haider said. "You put in your white paper, that's phase one funding. Then it's phase two funding, then it's phase three funding. By the time you're on phase two, it's months. Someone else has probably already copied your idea or already done something similar. So, why would I go to the government for those funding?" 

Instead of applying for specific contracts the government needs, Aspetto sells its high-tech body army products to various agencies within the U.S. government. 

"In our case, we're just going to go ahead and take the risk and fund it ourselves, because it would just move things a lot faster," Haider said. 

Aspetto makes bullet-resistant clothing, women’s body armor and K9-bullet-proof vests. The company has contracts with the Defense Department, the State Department and NASA. The FBI is also outfitting U.S. Border Patrol agents with Aspetto products. 

"I do believe they're going to focus on innovation. If you're going to compete with countries like China, you have to focus on innovation," Haider said. 

NASA contributes most of its funding to contractors to develop innovative products for space travel. In 2024, the agency allocated more than 76% of its budget to contracts. 

"With the right incentives, the private industry can also bring existing technologies that have already been proven in the private sector to the government to make that happen faster," Rozanski said. "I really believe that there's a significant opportunity to save money, to do it faster."

President-elect Trump appeared to agree with Elon Musk in support of H-1B visas for skilled workers in the U.S., as the right spars on the ongoing immigration debate.

"I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them," Trump told the New York Post Saturday.

Trump said that he recognizes the visas on his properties, saying, "I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program."

MUSK INFLAMES X WITH PROFANE MOVIE QUOTE IN DEFENSE OF H1-B VISA

Trump's comments come as the right clashes over immigration and the place of foreign workers in the U.S. labor market.

Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by Trump to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), argued earlier this week that American culture has not prioritized education enough, and therefore that foreign workers are needed for tech companies like Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla. 

Many tech companies have embraced the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, but critics of the program say H-1B holders are often chosen over U.S. citizens for jobs. 

One such critic, Laura Loomer, set off a firestorm on X when criticizing Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American venture capitalist, to be an adviser on artificial intelligence policy.

MUSK AND RAMASWAMY IGNITE MAGA WAR OVER SKILLED IMMIGRATION AND AMERICAN ‘MEDIOCRITY’

In a post, she said she was concerned that Krishnan, a U.S. citizen, would have an influence on the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

"It’s alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump’s admin when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda," she wrote.

Musk has doubled-down on his position, taking to X on Friday to blast a user who showed a video of him discussing SpaceX processes to go after the billionaire’s stance on the visa program.  

"The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B," Musk wrote on X.

He then went on to quote the 2008 action-comedy movie, "Tropic Thunder," which was a box office hit. 

"Take a big step back and F--- YOURSELF in the face," Musk railed. 

Ramaswamy has similarly been pro-H-1B visa, writing: "American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump Transition Team for comment.

Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Trump world warriors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have ignited an intra-MAGA battle with their proposals to increase immigration visas for high-skill workers.

Musk and Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), argued that American culture has not prioritized education enough, and therefore foreign workers are needed for tech companies like Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla. 

The pair saw their conservative sway skyrocket throughout the 2024 election as they grew closer to Trump, but the wealthy businessmen now find themselves butting heads with Trump’s most ardent base that wants to see Trump make good on promises of immigration restrictions and promoting the U.S. labor force. 

Trump restricted access to foreign worker visas during his first administration and has critiqued the H-1B visas program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.  

"There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley," Musk wrote on X, arguing that the tech industry needs to "double" the number of engineers working in the U.S. today. 

'WE'RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH': REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE'S MUSK, RAMASWAMY

"The number of people who are super-talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low," he added. 

Musk likened recruiting foreign workers to assembling a sports team. "You need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win."

Ramaswamy, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India, backed up Musk and took shots at American society. 

 "American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence," he wrote on X. 

"A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad [sic] champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers."

Those comments didn’t sit well with conservative crusaders like pundit Ann Coulter, commentator Laura Loomer, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and even former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

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"There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture," Haley wrote in a post on the social platform X. "All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers."

Haley and Ramaswamy have a long history of butting heads, starting with their competition in the 2024 Republican primary.

"We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd grade teacher picking their kid’s gender - and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline," Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote in a social media post on Thursday. "We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy."

Right-wing rabble-rouser Loomer said, "Our country was built by white Europeans, actually. Not third-world invaders from India. It's not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H-1B visas. Not an extension."

The skirmish kicked up after Trump nominated venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan to serve as his AI policy adviser. That nomination triggered anti-Indian backlash, and critics highlighted his past support for lifting the cap on green cards. 

"The Woodstock generation managed to build out aerospace, the one before went to the moon, America was doing great. Underlying your post is that we were all living in squalor until being rescued by H-1B's. Then why did everyone want to come here?" right-wing personality Mike Cernovich responded to Ramaswamy on X.

A fierce dispute erupted in the president-elect’s camp between immigration hard-liners and tech industry leaders including Elon Musk.

A top New Jersey lawmaker is proposing legislation to form a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Garden State, modeling it after the one Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are forming at the federal level.

"We need it more" than Washington, Senate Minority Whip Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, said. 

"We're mirroring what the federal government and what those two gentlemen are doing."

Pennacchio, who also previously worked under former Republican Gov. Donald DiFrancesco on economic development, said NJDOGE would take on a state budget that has increased 60% in the past seven fiscal years.

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"A lot of those increases were one-shots, when they borrowed money during the period of COVID. You're not going to get that back. … They haven’t even spent it all. Those one-shots, they’re all gone.

"I’ve seen estimates of a budget deficit next year of maybe $4 billion. Next year is the governor’s race. We will have a new governor, and regardless of who comes in — Republican or Democrat — it would be nice to have a committee together to give them a blueprint of what we can or should not do."

He said the state does have a "red tape" commission set up by former Gov. Chris Christie to trim regulations, adding it hasn’t borne results.

"Every dollar we save is $1 less that [Trenton] has to raise taxes," Pennacchio said. 

Pennacchio’s committee, if approved, would consist of one member from the state Treasury, one from the Chamber of Commerce, the top Republican and Democrat from the Senate and General Assembly and one public member appointed by the governor.

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"[N]ot only can we start to chip away at our exacerbated affordability crisis by cutting wasteful spending and ensuring efficiency, we can also ease the financial burden for our constituents across the Garden State by lowering the onslaught of taxes and fees," Pennacchio said.

At least one other state senator is planning to endorse the idea but has not yet done so publicly. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives of the General Assembly for their reaction to the senator’s legislation.

Despite being long viewed as a reliably "blue" state, New Jersey came within about four points of electing Donald Trump instead of Vice President Kamala Harris. Political analysts pointed to the results as evidence of a tidal shift in public opinion toward government spending, among other subjects.

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Trump twice won Morris County and flipped Passaic County in 2024, parts of which Pennacchio represents. The lawmaker said his constituents are on board with his NJDOGE proposal and that they’ve similarly recognized disparities in the funding support they receive from Trenton.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump Transition for comment on the plan.

"My district is a district that is getting the bills. Schools in my district are seeing cuts while schools in other districts are not seeing cuts," Pennacchio said.

"It is stuff like this that we should look at. … If the legislature sees fit that they still want to subsidize this nonsense, then that's fine. They’ll be on record.

"Let's greet the next new governor with outlines of what they can do, where there are cost savings, where things can be eliminated; that will stimulate the economy, maybe decrease taxes on the people."

The 2025 field for that governor’s race is packed, with several top names in both partisan primaries.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Senate Leader Steve Sweeney and representatives Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer round out the Democratic choices.

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Truck driver and former state Sen. Ed Durr, Sen. Jon Bramnick, conservative journalist Bill Spadea and 2021 gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli are the top names on the Republican side.

State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Lakewood, also joined Pennacchio's call for a NJDOGE.

"With President Trump's plan to bring business back to the U.S., New Jersey has the chance to lead the charge. It's time to restore our state's manufacturing glory with high-paying jobs," Singer said.

"Let's make New Jersey the blueprint for the Make America Work Again movement, starting with a statewide DOGE."

Recently, large drones have been spotted across Pennacchio’s district, making nationwide news.

Pennacchio slammed the feds for offering Jerseyans few answers on the aircraft, saying that when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, government officials knew right away who orchestrated it.

"We even had some face time with the Department of Homeland Security (about the drones). They were useless. … They should be ashamed of themselves. The FBI director, he checked out. [Christopher Wray] already announced that he's leaving. … So who's minding the store here?"