- Jamie Dimon says Elon Musk's proposed department of government efficiency is a "very good idea."
- "I think governments have to become more efficient, more competent," he said to CNBC.
- Donald Trump has said he's on board with creating a "government-efficiency commission."
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says he approves of Elon Musk's proposal to create a new department of government efficiency — or, in Musk's words, DOGE.
Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Musk recently floated the idea of working in former President Donald Trump's government as part of such a new commission if Trump wins in November.
"Ok, so — Elon, this idea about having an efficiency commission, I actually like the idea," Dimon said in an interview with CNBC-TV18, which aired on Tuesday.
"I think governments have to become more efficient, more competent," he said. "And look at, when they take money, what do they get for it. I actually think it's a very good idea."
"It's kind of like, remember Al Gore had the 'Reinventing Government?' We really need to do it," Dimon added.
The efficiency department was a suggestion from Musk, which the Tesla chief shared with Trump during their live-streamed X conversation on August 12.
Musk said he'd "be happy to help out" on a government-efficiency commission, to which Trump responded that he'd "love it" if that happened.
Trump reiterated his intentions for such a commission during a speech at the Economic Club of New York on September 5, saying he plans to "create a government-efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms."
Trump has also said that he would love to offer Musk a cabinet position.
"He's a very smart guy. I certainly would, if he would do it, I certainly would. He's a brilliant guy," Trump said when asked if he would offer Musk a cabinet or advisory position, Reuters reported on August 19.
And Musk has also said he "can't wait" to be part of Trump's cabinet.
"I can't wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go," Musk wrote on X on September 3.
During the CNBC interview, Dimon said that at the moment, he will not endorse Trump or his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for the presidency.
But Trump, for his part, told Bloomberg in June that if he were to be elected, he might consider Dimon for the role of the country's treasury secretary.
"He is somebody that I would consider, sure," Trump told Bloomberg.
However, he later walked back that statement. In July, Trump denied that he ever considered Dimon for the role, writing on Truth Social: "I don't know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury."
Dimon has not said if he plans to take up the role if offered the job. In an August CNBC "The Exchange" interview, he said he's focused on his current job at JPMorgan.
"I am very happy with what I'm doing," he said in the interview. "I say it over and over, but I'm very happy with what I'm doing."
And during the CNBC interview this week, Dimon said, "I don't expect to be the treasury secretary."
Musk, representatives of Trump and JPMorgan Chase didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside business hours.