DOGE Caucus plans for the biggest impact, seeing key tools to cut waste
First on FoxAt the second Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus meeting, Chairman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led discussions on how to quickly cut waste in government.
The new 18-member caucus met Thursday morning to strategize how to overcome some of the problems and other similar efforts.
“The Senate DOGE caucus is hitting the ground running on day one of the Trump administration to cut the size of government,” Ernst said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Biden’s bloat has created a target-rich environment to eliminate waste and hold the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and I’m confident we have plans to serve as the measure after today. Arm in Congress to deliver to taxpayers.”
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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is chairman of the DOGE Caucus. (Reuters)
For years, Ernst has been taking inventory of government waste, listing areas for the caucus to cut excess bureaucracy and run government more efficiently.
Specific targets for the caucus include federal telecommuting, IRS agents with unpaid taxes and US funding going to foreign laboratories with little accountability.
Caucus members have mapped out how to address these items in a way that ensures Ernst’s office gets “more bites at the apple.”
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Ernst audited herself for the IRS. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
To do this, Republicans plan to repeal the rules set by federal agencies and use tools such as the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reconcile the budget.
The budget reconciliation process is expected to be a key vehicle for Republican tax and immigration policy goals, and the party has announced that it is likely to pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator suggested three such bills could be introduced 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 legislative filibuster’s 60-vote limit. The CRA is not similarly beholden to the filibuster.
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Republicans plan to hit the ground running with their new majority. (AP Photo/Caroline Castor)
The caucus plans to work with President Trump on executive orders targeting government waste.
The 18 members of the caucus serve on various Senate committees, which gives them a good idea of where most of the waste is.
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President-elect Trump taps Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy, right, to lead DOGE. (Getty Images)
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Last year, Ernst used the opportunity to propose a plan that would cut $2 trillion from what she said was a waste. In it, she advocates selling off vacant government buildings, auditing the IRS and firing tax-paying agents, and curtailing random or seemingly “stupid” government surveys, among other things.
DOGE was announced earlier by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new advisory board to reduce government waste.