James Fishback, an investment firm CEO who serves as an outside adviser to President Donald Trump’s government efficiency advisory commission, told NBC News on Tuesday he’s tossing his hat in the ring to fill the void left there by Vivek Ramaswamy’s departure.
Ramaswamy, who signed on as a co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, shortly after Trump’s victory in November, announced Monday that he will be leaving to launch a bid for governor in Ohio.
“My sense is that things are very much touch and go,” said Fishback, the CEO of the investment firm Azoria and a Ramaswamy confidant. “I have tremendous respect for Vivek. And I have tremendous respect for the DOGE agenda. And I am willing to step up if that is something they still want to do.”
Ramaswamy, who built a plank in his presidential bid around deregulation and finding new ways to slash the federal workforce, had been expected to focus his attention on those issues. His co-chair, tech billionaire Elon Musk, would focus his time on finding ways to dramatically cut government spending. (Musk has revised down his predictions for just how much the outside agency will be able to successfully cut down.)
“The regulatory piece is really important,” Fishback said. “The anti-growth bureaucracy is holding back American prosperity and I would be honored to play a role in reviving this. I’m willing to serve the country and then work with President Trump to deliver on this agenda. It’s his agenda.”
A DOGE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
