Elon Musk has officially been picked by Donald Trump to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), described by the president-elect as the “Manhattan Project of our time”.

Alongside politician Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk will head up the new office which is designed to “dismantle” government bureaucracy and “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful spending, and restructure Federal Agencies”.

The pair will give external advice to the White House on how to “drive large scale structural reform,” Trump announced on Tuesday evening.

“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people”, Musk said in a statement.

Elon Musk tipped to lead 'Manhattan Project of our time' under Donald Trump

The project is set to be completed by July 4, 2026, and the president-elect said that it is designed to “drive out the massive waste and fraud”.

“A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence,” Trump said in the statement.

“I am confident they will succeed!”

The department has been likened to the Manhattan Project - which developed the world’s first atomic bombs.

Trump announced that Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech investor, will work with Musk on the project

After the announcement, Musk posted on his social media platform, X: “Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!”

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy shared the announcement online, saying “we will not go gently”.