- The Washington Times - Thursday, December 5, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency was all the buzz Thursday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were given an early sense of how the cost-cutting committee co-led by Elon Musk plans to shake up Washington.

House Speaker Mike Johnson flashed his excitement, telling reporters that DOGE’s work marked a “new day in Washington and a new day in America.”

“This is an important day — it is the beginning of a journey,” the Louisiana Republican said briefly after meeting Mr. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the hard-charging duo tasked with leading the effort. “Let me be frank about this: government is too big, it does too many things, and it does almost nothing well.”

That deep-rooted sentiment provided the basis for creating DOGE. The project has fiscal conservatives and small government advocates giddy over the group’s potential to reduce the size and scope of government and make it work more efficiently.

Mr. Musk, with one of his young sons in tow, and Mr. Ramaswamy were given rockstar treatment as they made their way through the corridors of Congress, flocked by reporters and security.

They were also meeting with Republican members of the House and Senate.

Previewing DOGE’s early plans a day earlier, Mr. Ramaswamy said the group will focus on targeting waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal bureaucracy. They also want to identify where money could be spent more efficiently and where the government operates outside its legal framework.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that this entails ensuring that people who receive Social Security and Medicare benefits meet the eligibility requirements and are not scamming the system or receiving improper payments because of administrative errors.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that making the current government more efficient will help prepare Congress to consider more far-reaching cost-saving measures, such as overhauling entitlement programs.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.

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