Last week I opined that Vivek's talents would have been wasted if he were appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace J.D. Vance. 

He was needed at DOGE, working alongside Elon Musk to dramatically slim down government. 

🚨 NOW: Vivek Ramaswamy introduces Argentina President Milei at the Hispanic Inaugural Ball in DC

“This guy gets it! He was DOGE before there was DOGE in America,” Vivek said pic.twitter.com/moMWlggP23

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 19, 2025

Apparently my opinion was not shared with the Trump folks working at DOGE. Vivek apparently is seen more as a showman than a workman, and people inside DOGE will be happy to see the back of him as he goes off to run for governor of Ohio. 

Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump chose to co-lead DOGE with @ElonMusk, is expected to soon step away from the task force. There has been friction between rank and file DOGE staff and @VivekGRamaswamy, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit. He intends to announce a campaign…

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 19, 2025

At least that is the story as CBS portrays it. POLITICO has a more neutral take in which Ramaswamy's political ambitions were the bigger motivation than any tension within DOGE, although one might read between the lines to make the two stories fit better. 

As CBS reports it:

People close to Musk have privately undercut Ramaswamy for weeks, frustrated with his lack of participation in the heavy lifting, according to sources familiar with the internal dynamics. There has been friction between the incoming rank and file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy, the sources said, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit.

"Vivek has worn out his welcome," one person close to Trump said. 

This seems perfectly plausible, of course. My assessment of Vivek's talents is based more on his remarkable rhetorical abilities than any inside knowledge of his managerial abilities. He may be a great talker and not so great a doer. That could be said of me; I shouldn't be running a lemonade stand. 

(POLITICO) - Vivek Ramaswamy could withdraw from working with the Department of Government Efficiency ahead of his bid for Ohio governor, which he intends to formally announce by the last week in January, according to a person close to the matter. https://t.co/C1wteYQ7GL

— Nicholas Brown (@NicholasABrown_) January 19, 2025

POLITICO'S take, as I said, is more neutral in tone. Less inside dishing and more straight "what we see happening." The "inside scoop" style of reporting is more fascinating to read, but inherently less reliable since "insiders" usually dish on their own opinions and can't be counted on to reflect any views not their own. 

Vivek Ramaswamy could withdraw from working with the Department of Government Efficiency ahead of his bid for Ohio governor, which he intends to formally announce by the last week in January, according to a person close to the matter.

Ramaswamy’s potential exit could upend DOGE, which aims to reduce government spending by up to $2 trillion by July 4, 2026 — by which time his Ohio gubernatorial campaign will need to be well underway. Following the election, Ramaswamy informed members of the transition that he planned to run for governor, said a person familiar with the transition.

Ramaswamy’s decision accelerated when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine passed over Ramaswamy to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the Senate on Friday, picking instead his own Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

Multiple people who discussed Ramaswamy and the inner workings of DOGE were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly and to freely discuss sensitive issues.

On Saturday, Ramaswamy showed up at an all-hands DOGE meeting at the SpaceX headquarters in Washington, according to two people familiar with the department’s inner workings. Musk was not present.

The breakdown of labor between Musk and Ramaswamy, according to one person familiar, was that Musk focused on the big picture while Ramaswamy focused on deregulation; the rest of the staff will focus on implementation. Steve Davis, Musk’s right hand man at SpaceX, functions as his DOGE lieutenant, while Brad Smith, a healthcare entrepreneur and Rhodes Scholar, is Ramaswamy’s main point of contact.

If there is one thing we know about Elon Musk, it is that he is a remarkable manager of people and projects. The joke about Elon is that he specializes in turning an impossible project into one that gets completed late. 

Can’t stop watching the Super Heavy rocket booster being caught in the “chopsticks” for a second time… simply amazing! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/gCYQzh25H2

— Jeff McLeod (@Jeffmcleod) January 17, 2025

Of course, catching a rocket the size of a skyscraper coming back from space with a pair of chopsticks isn't the same thing as wrangling bureaucrats--he accomplishes the impossible by firing every bureaucrat he can at SpaceX--I can't think of anybody who has a better chance of doing what needs to be done. 

From impossible to late https://t.co/m8q4j8puCO

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2024

If it turns out that Vivek was seen as, shall we say, inessential and even an obstacle to DOGE's mission, I can take solace in the fact that I have a long enough record of getting things wrong that this one won't stand out. Too much.