A Florida congressman has become the first Democrat to join the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, announcing his support for the mission and arguing that it should not be a partisan issue.
The DOGE Caucus was founded by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-FL). It is designed to support efforts by a new department created by President-elect Donald Trump called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — which will be led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate. The department will be tasked with initiating reforms of the bureaucracy, eliminating wasteful spending, and potentially even eliminating entire agencies — with the aim being that the department will be shut down after the job is done.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) also plans to create a Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee, which will reportedly be led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). This subcommittee will also be working with Musk and Ramaswamy’s DOGE.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) announced the decision to join the DOGE Caucus on Tuesday in a statement, where he argued that “streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue.”
Moskowitz went on to highlight one agency he believes needs serious reform: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“While necessary, [DHS] has gotten too big,” the Democrat congressman said, pointing to the department’s massive bureaucracy and specifically highlighting the need “to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House.”
“It’s not practical to have 22 agencies under this one department,” Moskowitz argued.
Preventing wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars IS NOT a partisan issue.
Elated to have @RepMoskowitz onboard the now Bipartisan, Bicameral @DOGE Caucus. https://t.co/60iVa6kKVG
— Aaron Bean (@RepAaronBean) December 3, 2024
While Moskowitz is the first Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus, other Democrats have expressed mild support for the mission of DOGE — with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stating that they would support cutting defense spending.
“Elon Musk is right,” Sanders wrote in a post on X. “The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions. Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change.”
Elon Musk is right.
The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions.
Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud.
That must change.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 1, 2024
Khanna highlighted the Pentagon’s failed audits, waste, fraud, and abuse — pointing out that these are areas that DOGE should target.
“There needs to be more open competition, not the monopolization in defense contractors,” he said.
