DOGE co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are inspiring governors across a handful of states to launch their own ambitious cost-cutting initiatives ahead of President-elect Donald Trump assuming the White House for a second term.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), during her Tuesday evening address before lawmakers, announced the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the Hawkeye State aimed at cutting wasteful spending.
“I like to say that we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing,” Reynolds stated. “And to build on our success, I’m launching our own state DOGE to find even greater savings and efficiencies in both state and local government.”
Emily Schmitt, general counsel of Sukup Manufacturing, will head the program, the governor said.
Last week, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) unveiled in her inauguration address plans to create a DOGE commission to dramatically reduce spending.
“In just a few short years, we’ve turned our state into a national model for bold, get-it-done government. And we’re not stopping,” Ayotte said. “We need to make sure that the government is operating more like the lean process in manufacturing, where waste is eliminated each step in the process for a better result.”
“And to help us do this, because I know there is nothing harder than politicians and asking them not to spend money. So today, I’m announcing the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, or I like to call it the COGE,” the governor added.
In December, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) revealed plans to launch a program aimed at cutting waste and eliminating outdated regulations. He issued an executive order to create a new government efficiency body and appointed oil and gas executive Steve Orlando as the state's first Financial Responsibility Czar.
In the same month, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) moved to establish a DOGE-like panel called the Governmental, Oversight, Accountability and Transparency Committee (GOAT).
“I think that we can look at a lot of ideas and try to find ways to make the government do a better job than we currently are,” Vos said in an interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“I’m super excited that we’re going to now kind of focus on, not just how do we layer more things on, but how do we make the things that we already have work better,” the lawmaker added.
Last November, Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to co-lead DOGE to slash up to $2 trillion off of the federal budget.
"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies—essential to the 'Save America' Movement," Trump wrote in a statement at the time. "I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans."
While it’s unclear what measures DOGE will take come next week, Musk has expressed his intention to chop 30% of spending from the $6 trillion budget, while Ramaswamy has proposed reducing the federal workforce by half by forcing staff to report for in-office work.
