Vivek Ramaswamy to leave DOGE and launch a run for Ohio governor
WASHINGTON — Vivek Ramaswamy will launch a campaign for governor in Ohio early next week and is parting ways with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, two sources familiar with his plans told NBC News.
Ramaswamy’s interest in seeking office in his home state is not a surprise. But his decision to leave DOGE now removes him from the high command of a federal spending watchdog group that he was supposed to run with Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO and owner of X.
“He’s leaving DOGE. He’s going to announce early next week for governor,” said one of the sources, who was granted anonymity to discuss preparations for a campaign that has not officially launched. “It became increasingly clear over the last week that pursuing the governor’s race and running DOGE was not compatible. He’s leaving on good terms with Trump, Elon and the team.”
A Monday morning post on X, issued around the time that Ramaswamy’s departure from DOGE became public, underscored how abruptly he was pivoting away from one of Trump’s top priorities.
“A new dawn,” Ramaswamy posted alongside a photo of him with Musk.
In a statement to NBC News, Trump transition spokesperson Anna Kelly praised Ramaswamy for having played a “critical role” in establishing DOGE.
“He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE based on the structure that we announced today,” Kelly added. “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!”
Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur, briefly challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination last year before becoming one of his most visible and vocal allies. He had said that he was putting his Ohio political ambitions on hold to help lead the DOGE effort.
At the time, Ramasway was taking himself out of the running for the appointment to the Senate vacancy in Ohio left by Vice President-elect JD Vance. But Ramaswamy resurfaced as a late contender for that job, meeting last week with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who eventually selected Lt. Gov. Jon Husted for the post.
That move quickly upended the state’s 2026 race for governor, as Husted was considered a leading candidate to succeed the term-limited DeWine, a fellow Republican. Two other GOP officials with statewide name-recognition — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and state Treasurer Robert Sprague — were already plotting their own bids for governor. And Ramaswamy’s signals last week that he was about to join them only accelerated their preparations.
Ramaswamy mingled with Ohio Republicans at their inaugural ball here Sunday night. But he left conspicuously early, according to three attendees, who were granted anonymity to share details of a private event. His appearance struck these Republicans as unusually perfunctory for someone about to launch a campaign for governor.
“He can’t bother to spend more than 45 minutes with 1,400 of the most influential Republicans in Ohio,” one GOP leader in the state said. “It’s next-level arrogance.”
A Ramaswamy adviser did not respond to a question about his appearance.
On the Democratic side, Amy Acton, a physician who served as DeWine’s health director during the early days of Covid, has declared her candidacy for governor.