Nov 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's government efficiency panel said in a Wall Street Journal opinion story on Wednesday that they will apply recent Supreme Court rulings that can be used to take power away from federal agencies to reduce rules the panel finds unnecessary, costly and inefficient.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate and the founder of biotechnology firm Roivant Sciences , have been tasked by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Many current federal regulations may exceed the legislative power granted by Congress, they said, citing two Supreme Court cases — 2022's West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and this year's Loper Bright v. Raimondo. DOGE will look for such regulations, they added.

Given the clear electoral mandate and the 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court, DOGE is presented with an opportunity to enact substantial structural downsizing within the federal government, they said.

"DOGE will present this list of regulations to President Trump, who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote.

They stated that a partnership with the Trump transition team was underway to hire a team of "small-government crusaders", which will work with the White House Office of Management and Budget.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)

((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; On X as @HoodieOnVeshti; +91-74116-87774))