Elon Musk may have departed from the White House, yet the Trump administration remains unmoved by the havoc caused by Musk’s rather drastic measures during his five-month stint helming the seemingly innocuous ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE). But the trail of destruction doesn’t end within the federal government. A worrying trend of similar ‘government efficiency’ drives has taken root in no less than 26 states recently, mostly instigated through executive orders, new legislation, or the formation of legislative committees, per an April assessment by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The EPI report reveals that state-level programs hide behind the false premise of ‘eliminating inefficiency’ and ‘trimming needless expenses’ to mask ulterior motives of enabling tax breaks for the affluent classes.
State officials are appropriating the DOGE brand to push for organizational restructuring in the government, a move that aligns predominantly with partisan interests. This comes in the form of tactical use of ‘efficiency’ as a tool to curtail agency control and impose stringent new obligations on agencies serving the mass population. Such autonomy-seizing actions typically associated with state-wide DOGE initiatives are designed to shift power away from civil servants and state agencies. To date, this year, we have observed four states (Kentucky, Utah, Oklahoma, and Louisiana) endorsing so-called “REINS-style” laws, which are a replication of the federal “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny” (REINS) Act.
The REINS Act is a federal legislation brainchild of a Tea Party activist, and since its inception in 2009, has consistently featured in every Congressional debate. It aims to empower Congress to veto major policy changes proposed by federal agencies. Nonprofit group Public Citizen, a watchdog for consumers, cautions that the REINS Act could critically jeopardize the government’s capability to ensure public health, safety, worker rights, and financial reforms. Despite the REINS Act consistently failing to gain pass through the U.S. Senate, including a recent failed attempt to slip it into Trump’s substantial tax bill which was blocked by the Senate parliamentarian in June, several state laws have mimicked its principles, largely due to significant influence exerted by Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian politics advocacy group tied to the Koch family.
After being passed into law, these REINS-style laws curtail state agencies’ ability to enforce regulations and safeguards. A fitting example is in Wisconsin, where the second state REINS-style law was enforced under the watch of Gov. Scott Walker in 2017. This law effectively barred the Department of Natural Resources from limiting manure spreading in areas susceptible to groundwater contamination. Various states appear to be exploiting their DOGE initiatives to score points with Donald Trump and Musk, or to advance conservative cutbacks long yearned for. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt proudly proclaimed earlier this year about having utilized DOGE principles in Oklahoma long before they gained recognition.
In February, Governor Stitt ushered in a ‘DOGE-OK’ program through an executive order. This program, he indicated, would synchronize with President Trump’s design for federal regulatory and budgetary modification in collaboration with the State of Oklahoma. Stitt’s announcement in April, about DOGE-OK recommending the reimbursement of $157 million in ‘excessive’ federal health grants, created unease. These grants included allocations for diabetes prevention, immunizations for infants, and services for deaf or hearing-impaired children.
Neutral think-tank Oklahoma Policy Institute cautioned about the hasty slashing of these funds, pointing out that Oklahoma is somewhat lacking in health metrics nationwide, being in 47th place for overall health and 45th for children’s health. According to the organization’s leader, these ‘short-term savings will result in larger costs in the future, not just in monetary terms but also human life.’ Some of the state’s Republican legislators also voiced their concerns about returning the health funds at a press conference which followed the report. When asked, Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert commented on heard reports about agencies undergoing cuts that could potentially prove costly in the long term.
Hilbert commented further, stating concern over examples of lost state jobs only to be replaced by expensive contractors. More troublingly, contracts for already rendered services are being amended retrospectively, a practice warned as poor business practice and a precursor to potential lawsuits. Yet, with all these doubts about Governor Stitt’s choices, Hilbert and the Republican legislature seem to stand behind the overarching DOGE ethos. In May, two bills granting legislative oversight over agency regulations, including a REINS-style Act, were passed by the Oklahoma legislature.
However, not all Oklahoma residents find the DOGE agenda palatable. When DOGE-OK opened a portal for public feedback on government inefficiency, it was inundated with critiques and trolling submissions, which included song lyrics or expletives aimed at Stitt and Musk. Some of the submissions called for the firing of Ryan Walters, the state superintendent, who last year insisted every teacher state-wide have a Bible in class. One anonymous suggestion recommended: ‘More focus on aiding residents of Oklahoma than adulating Donald Trump and Elon Musk. This is turning embarrassing.’
In local political strategy, it’s becoming increasingly popular to centralize power under the jurisdiction of conservative governors or in certain cases, conservative legislatures. DeSantis of Florida, a politician known for his push to amplify state power, initialized a DOGE task force via an executive order, allowing him to extended his rule to local governments and public institutions. Apart from eliminating around 70 state boards and commissions, his task force aspires to audit and ‘reveal excess’ within local governments and to return surplus or unused federal grants.
Following this, the task force then requested public college and university heads to submit comprehensive data on research, publications, grants, and funding received. Suggestions have been made that course syllabi might be the task force’s next target. State lawmakers have even considered doing away with the office of lieutenant governor entirely, replacing it with a role titled commissioner of government efficiency.
In contrast, Kentucky’s largely Republican legislature uses DOGE strategies to wrest power from Democratic Governor Andy Beshear. In the house debate over a REINS-style act, which would give legislative control over executive regulations, House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy frankly stated that the legislation’s purpose was to consolidate power within the state legislature’s confines. ‘The intent is to reset and remove all doubt that the strongest branch of government is [the legislature],’ he declared. Governor Beshear vetoed the legislation in March, arguing that Rudy’s claim of legislative dominance ran contrary to both the U.S. and Kentucky Constitutions, which upholds three equal branches of government. The legislature overrode Beshear’s veto just three days later.
Kansas, last year, witnessed a similar shifting of powers when the Republican-led legislature overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto to pass similar REINS-style legislation. Recent state DOGE efforts pledged enhanced efficiency through employing artificial intelligence (AI), an assertion that EPI counters with the warning that the real objective could be substituting the inspection authority of the civil servants with undeveloped technological tools that lack oversight. Legislation pending in North Carolina would instruct the state auditor to leverage AI to identify government offices and jobs to cut. Democrats in the state legislature cautioned against trusting AI with such recommendations during a congressional debate in April.
At other regions, DOGE programs have similarly advocated AI as a tool for cost savings. For example, in Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Amanda Nedweski, who is leading a DOGE congressional committee, envisions a vision of increased state efficiency through AI. Similarly, in Oklahoma, DOGE-OK boasted that their modernization efforts had already saved 100,000 staff hours. However, critics have fought back against the notion that an effective government is one that slashes expenditures as much as possible.
In conclusion, as mirrored by federal actions followed by a massive GOP spending bill that essentially serves as a costly handout to the wealthy, it becomes increasingly apparent that such cuts in the name of efficiency are often merely pretexts for funding tax cuts. In states where DOGE movements are active, this irony is heavily criticized. The creation of entirely new bureaucratic departments, supposedly to root out inefficiency, is seen as a paradox in itself. In Texas, for example, a legislation creating the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office (TREO) just to identify unrequired and ineffective governmental rules, ironically comes at a projected cost of $22.8 million over the next five years.