Musk, Ramaswamy to Lead Gov’t Efficiency Department; Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Gets 15 Years

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will join his administration to lead a proposed new department focused on improving government efficiency, reducing waste, and cutting excess regulation. The office will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget. Trump suggested that the proposed department would create an entrepreneurial approach to government “never seen before” and would send shockwaves through Washington.

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine. Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years.

At least 11 employees were taken to hospitals on Tuesday after an explosion at a plant in Louisville, Kentucky, caused a partial collapse of a building and blew out windows in nearby homes and businesses. The explosion occurred around 3 p.m. at Givaudan Sense Colour, which produces colorings for food and drinks.