A finance CEO tells BI he's ready to take over Ramaswamy's DOGE position — he just needs to talk to Trump and Elon
James Fishback
- James Fishback, an outside DOGE advisor, told BI that he wants to take Vivek Ramaswamy's spot.
- Ramaswamy left DOGE on Monday and is expected to run for governor of Ohio.
- Fishback said that he wants to refocus DOGE on regulatory reform, but hasn't spoken to Trump or Musk.
One day after Vivek Ramaswamy announced he is leaving the Department of Government Efficiency, James Fishback, co-founder and CEO of the investment firm Azoria, told Business Insider he's ready to fill the open role.
Fishback, a confidant of Ramaswamy, has said he's already worked as an outside advisor to DOGE. Should he take over as DOGE co-head, he told BI he'd want to focus on deregulation, as NBC first reported Tuesday.
It's not yet clear whether someone will step into Ramaswamy's role as co-leader with Elon Musk or how the decision will be made.
"I think it's honestly going to be up to two people: Elon and President Trump, the latter having, of course, more sway," Fishback told BI. He said he didn't know of other people vying for the role, but added that it was a "fast-moving situation."
As of Tuesday afternoon, Fishback told BI he had not talked to President Donald Trump or Musk about his desire to take Ramaswamy's place.
Though he's based in Florida, Fishback said he plans to stay in Washington, DC for a few more days and will meet with employees in the White House.
"And it's not necessarily to make the case for me, it is primarily to make the case that the regulatory work that Vivek Ramaswamy was leading first and foremost — that to be reintegrated back into DOGE in one way, shape, or form," he told BI.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order establishing DOGE as an agency inside the White House, instead of an external group as was widely expected.
The order seemingly limited DOGE's mission, scaling it back from a commission devoted to deregulation and trillion-dollar spending cuts to one focused on updating the federal government's tech systems.
Representatives for Musk and Trump did not respond to BI's request for comment.