Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) announced this week that she intends to join the Congressional Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus, or DOGE Caucus. The caucus, which will be led by Florida Rep. Aaron Bean (R) and Texas Rep. Pete Sessions (R), will coordinate with the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in implementing legislation that reduces waste, fraud, and abuse.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump (R) announced that he had appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the department, which will focus on addressing bureaucracy, regulations deemed excessive, wasteful spending, and federal agencies that are perceived to be bloated.
Rep. Bean, the caucus' chairman, released a statement, affirming that the caucus will carry out the president's vision and make government more efficient.
Rep. Salazar announced her membership to the caucus in a statement, commenting that "the American people deserve a federal government that treats their tax dollars with respect and takes a fresh look at government efficiency." As a member of the caucus, she vows "to help bring accountability to Washington" because "the time for wasteful governing is over."
In a press release, Rep. Salazar's office shared that the government should not be spending more money than it's taking in, highlighting that "it is currently borrowing over $6 billion a day, and half of it goes to pay the interest on the debt alone." According to her office, "under the Biden-Harris Administration, interest on the national debt has tripled and now accounts for more than we spend on our entire defense budget.
The Department and the caucus do not only intend on addressing financial concerns, but they are also expected to address structural concerns as well.
Just this week, Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) suggested that the department should look into restructuring the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should report directly to the White House.
