DOGE sprouts in red states, as governors embrace the cost-cutter brand and make it their own

Source: Associated Press

DOGE sprouts in red states, as governors embrace the cost-cutter brand and make it their own

By MARC LEVY
Updated 1:03 AM EDT, July 12, 2025

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The brash and chaotic first days of President Donald Trump ‘s Department of Government Efficiency, once led by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, spawned state-level DOGE mimicry as Republican governors and lawmakers aim to show they are in step with their party’s leader.

Governors have always made political hay out of slashing waste or taming bureaucracy, but DOGE has, in some ways, raised the stakes for them to show that they are zealously committed to cutting costs. Many drive home the point that they have always been focused on cutting government, even if they’re not conducting mass layoffs.

“I like to say we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in announcing her own task force in January.

Critics agree that some of these initiatives are nothing new and suggest they are wasteful, essentially duplicating built-in processes that are normally the domain of legislative committees or independent state auditors.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/doge-trump-louisiana-florida-carolina-oklahoma-arkansas-9126dc6c2ed98ec7e8eeefc53a9425f5