Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Billionaires Bill Ackman, Marc Andreessen, and Travis Kalanick are reportedly getting involved in DOGE
Fortune ^ | 11.25.2024 | Alena Botros

Posted on 12/01/2024 7:23:38 AM PST by libh8er

……. The outreach appears to include venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick. Antonio Gracias, a former Tesla director, and Steve Davis, president of the Boring Company, were named too. The latter two are affiliated with Musk’s many companies.

And it seems that cohort is involved in the planning but, more specifically, is expected to work on technical challenges to collecting data on federal employees and programs. Andreessen is recruiting talent, according to the Washington Post.

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is supposedly charged with cutting costs and reducing headcount. “We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, despite regularly denouncing the media.

According to the Washington Post, the two aren’t only looking to build their team, but finding others who will help their cause. People familiar told the publication that Musk and Ramaswamy lobbied for Russell Vought, whom Trump chose to run the White House budget office. Vought is reportedly close to Ramaswamy, and he and Musk see Vought as a potential ally. In the Wall Street Journal op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy wrote: “We are assisting the Trump transition team to identify and hire a lean team of small-government crusaders, including some of the sharpest technical and legal minds in America. This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget.”

(Excerpt) Read more at fortune.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ackman; andreesen; doge; kalanick
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-40 next last

1 posted on 12/01/2024 7:23:38 AM PST by libh8er
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: libh8er

BTTT


2 posted on 12/01/2024 7:35:34 AM PST by nopardons
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: libh8er

A Congress accustomed to massive omnibus bills & debt-ceiling increases ain’t going to like being put on a meager budget.

Expect main media crying about under-funded programs and all the unfortunates & migrants struggling to exist and it’s all Donald Trump’s fault.

Every new jobs report under-reported, too.


3 posted on 12/01/2024 7:45:55 AM PST by citizen (Political incrementalism is like compound interest for liberals - every little bit adds up.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: libh8er

We look more like Russia every day.

Instead of America’s oligarchs getting involved in (the greatly needed) reform of America’s government - shouldn’t CONGRESS be doing this?


4 posted on 12/01/2024 7:52:00 AM PST by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Congress is the problem.


5 posted on 12/01/2024 7:56:05 AM PST by sasquatch (Do NOT forget Ashli Babbit! c/o piytar)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Instead of America’s oligarchs getting involved in (the greatly needed) reform of America’s government - shouldn’t CONGRESS be doing this?


Good leadership has been very rare in recent history.

The theory of leadership says that it moves around, it is not in any one person or position.

My eyes are seeing good leadership.


6 posted on 12/01/2024 7:56:20 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are not longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

How many decades did we give to Congress in order to do this, and they never did.

And in order for them to actually do what they should’ve done 30 years ago, I believe the catalyst would be something so catastrophic, that we will have wished we let these billionaires straighten the ship out before we went over the cliff


7 posted on 12/01/2024 7:56:37 AM PST by suasponte137
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: libh8er

One other comment - the FIRST place to start is reform of America’s government STATISTICS reporting.

Everything from inflation to labor to violent crime reporting from Fed.gov is now colored and corrupted by politicized bureaucracies and incompetence.

Even something as minor as USDA apple harvest reports now leave out the vast majority of states, because after DEI, foodstamps, etc... USDA doesn’t have enough money to survey minor states about their production. So they just check the top seven states and “estimate” the rest.

make the statistics and reporting fully independent so Americans can first get the TRUTH.


8 posted on 12/01/2024 7:56:45 AM PST by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88
shouldn’t CONGRESS be doing this?

Yeah, they've been doing such a bang up job already.

9 posted on 12/01/2024 7:58:22 AM PST by Right Brother
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

In case you haven’t noticed congress are a bunch of pussys that don’t and never will have the balls to do anything about the BEAST of government!! Our founders have turned in their graves so many times they may think they have been buried alive!!! WE ALL have elected utter LOSERS that have never done a damn thing in their lives except grift off of our tax dollars and pad their pockets with lobbyist money!!!


10 posted on 12/01/2024 7:58:57 AM PST by Trump Girl Kit Cat (Yosemite Sam raising hell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Everyone in Congress is beholden to someone. Unfortunately, billionaires are usually billionaires because they make the rules...or control those who do.


11 posted on 12/01/2024 7:58:57 AM PST by Gen.Blather (Wait! I said that out loud? )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: All

How many of these rich people get some contract from the federal government ?


12 posted on 12/01/2024 8:00:12 AM PST by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Congress doesn’t do crap. They are mostly on the take and do nothing to benefit the American people.


13 posted on 12/01/2024 8:00:33 AM PST by dforest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: libh8er
Bill Ackman has been a consistent big time Democrat Donor. As recently as this year he donated $1,000,000 to the Democrat PAC “We Deserve Better Inc”. He should be kept away from DOGE and anything involving this administration.

Marc Andreessen donated a million dollars to GMI PAC(Sam Bankman Fried). The GMI PAC primarily supported Democrats. Again, STAY AWAY!

14 posted on 12/01/2024 8:02:51 AM PST by thegagline (Sic semper tyrannis! Trump & Vance, 2024! (Formerly) Goldwater & Thomas Sowell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88
shouldn’t CONGRESS be doing this?

You realize that Congress is stealing from the American People?

15 posted on 12/01/2024 8:05:03 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Congress funded and enabled this mess. Then turned a blind eye towards it all.


16 posted on 12/01/2024 8:05:08 AM PST by Starboard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Trump Girl Kit Cat

“Our founders have turned in their graves so many times”

***********

Our Founders wanted the central government to have very limited power. What we have instead is an out-of-control bloated and overbearing one.


17 posted on 12/01/2024 8:10:26 AM PST by Starboard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Congress just does the will of the oligarchs so we might as well put the oligarchs in charge and cut out the middle man. We have to make sure the super rich keep getting their fat government handouts and an endless stream of foreign labor!


18 posted on 12/01/2024 8:11:04 AM PST by escapefromboston (Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PeterPrinciple

One can only hope that Trump’s administration and DOGE will be something akin to Milei’s chainsaw approach, which has pulled Argentina away from the brink in just one year. Will it be painful? Yes. Will there be wailing and gnashing of teeth? Brace yourselves. The US is confronting a terminal cancer that has metastasized and it’s going to require drastic treatment to beat it. That which doesn’t kill us will make us stronger. Whatever shall we do with millions of bureaucrats suddenly unemployed with no marketable real world skills to fall back on?


19 posted on 12/01/2024 8:16:17 AM PST by torqemada (If Democrats had any honor at all, they ALL would off themselves for the greater good.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

shouldn’t CONGRESS be doing this?


Yes, Congress should, and as others have pointed out, Congress hasn’t. But all DOGE can do is recommend cuts to the size of government. It will still be up to Congress to act on the recommendations.

And while the process will be entertaining to watch, which ones stand up to defend the waste of money, I fear the result will be less than we hope for. The swamp will mightily resist being drained.


20 posted on 12/01/2024 8:16:42 AM PST by hanamizu ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-40 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson