There is strong support for the soon-to-be formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk and entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a McLaughlin & Associates survey taken on behalf of Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA), found.
The survey results, first obtained by Breitbart News, asked respondents if they “support or oppose a Department of Government Efficiency whose sole purpose is to audit the government for inefficiencies and to instruct Congress on adjusting the federal budget to reduce costs and eliminate redundancy, unnecessary programs, and unnecessary services.”
There is overwhelming support: 71 percent across the board said they support DOGE. Of those, 40 percent said they “strongly” support it, followed by 31 percent who “somewhat” support it.
Just 16 percent said they oppose DOGE, and of those, only six percent “strongly” oppose it, while ten percent “somewhat” oppose it.
It should be noted that there is bipartisan support for this venture, as 79 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of Democrats, and 68 percent of independents support the creation of DOGE. For further perspective, 63 percent of voters for Vice President Kamala Harris support this idea, as do 79 percent of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 supporters.
Both Musk and Ramaswamy have floated widespread cuts and slashing the bureaucracy. One of the ways they could do that, they proposed, is by ending remote work for federal workers, which they detailed in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” they advised.
As it turns out, most Americans agree with this line of thinking.
“We are now more than four years from the height of the COVID pandemic, and America’s largest companies, including Apple, Google, and Starbucks, have insisted that employees return to the office to work,” the survey pointed out, noting that small companies have employees working in person again. Meanwhile, there are “2.87 million civilians” working in the federal government, half of whom have not returned to the office, per the survey.
“These federal employees decide how tax dollars are spent and how government programs are implemented, and they are supposed to ensure those programs run efficiently. Yet, with no in-person office presence, the employees lack accountability,” the survey stated, asking respondents if they “support or oppose a proposal to force government employees back to their offices or fire them if they refuse to do so.”
Most, 65 percent, agree with firing those federal employees if they refuse to go back to work in person. Nearly one-quarter, 24 percent, disagree. Those who “strongly” and “somewhat” oppose are split with 12 percent each.
Once again, there is a majority consensus across party lines, as 76 percent of Republicans agree, as do 55 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.
Tea Party Patriots Action Honorary Chairman Jenny Beth Martin touted the telling findings in a statement, highlighting the bipartisan support.
“The poll that Tea Party Patriots Action commissioned shows that 70.7% of Americans support DOGE and 65.4% of Americans support firing government employees who do not return to their office post-pandemic,” she said.
“DOGE’s existence is supported by 78.6% of Republicans, 64.0% of Democrats, and 68.0% of Independents. So DOGE’s existence has broad, bipartisan support,” she continued, noting that “reforming the federal workforce has strong, bipartisan support, as well.”
“As an organization founded on the principles of smaller government and reining in government spending, we support Elon and Vivek as they begin their important work making the government smaller, less costly, and more efficient,” she added.
