DOGE clubs plan to make the biggest impact, looking for key tools to accelerate waste reduction
FIRST ON FOX: At the second meeting of the Senate caucus of the Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), the president Joni Ernst, R-Iowathey had discussions about how they could most effectively and quickly begin to reduce waste across government.
The new 18-member caucus met Thursday morning to strategize how to avoid some of the pitfalls other similar efforts have encountered.
“The Senate Doge Caucus is getting down to business on the first day of the Trump administration to shrink government,” Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Biden’s bluster has created an environment rich in targets for finding ways to eliminate waste and make the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and after today, I’m confident we have plans that will serve as action to arm Congress to deliver to taxpayers .”
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Sen. Rep. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is chairwoman of the DOGE caucus. (Reuters)
For years, Ernst cataloged government waste, which gave the club a list of places to start cutting red tape and making government work more efficiently.
Some specific goals of the caucus are federal telework, Agents of the tax administration with unpaid taxes and US funding going to foreign labs with little accountability.
Club members have mapped out how they can address these items in a way that ensures they can get “multiple bites of the apple,” according to Ernst’s office.
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Ernst audited the tax administration herself. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
To do that, Republicans plan to use tools like the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which can be used to overturn rules that have been put in place by federal agenciesand budget reconciliation.
The budget reconciliation process is already expected to be a key vehicle for Republican tax and immigration policy goals, and the party has further signaled that it could pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator even suggested that they could do three such bills during the 119th Congress.
The advantage of passing legislation through budget reconciliation is that it requires a simple majority and is not subject to the 60-vote legislative filibuster threshold. The CRA is also not subject to a filibuster.
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Republicans plan to spring into action with their new majority. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The club also plans to work with the newly elected president Trump on executive orders targeting government waste.
The caucus’ 18 members serve on a number of different Senate committees, giving them a well-rounded idea of where the most waste exists.
President-elect Trump has chosen Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy, right, to lead DOGE. (Getty Images)
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Last year, Ernst used the opportunity to lay out a plan that cuts $2 trillion in what she said is waste. In it, he recommends, among other things, the sale of vacant government buildings, an audit of the IRS and the firing of agents who owe taxes, and a reduction in seemingly random or “stupid” government studies.
DOGE was previously announced by Trump, who has tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new advisory board seeking to reduce government waste.
