Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plans to cut waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government’s nearly $7 trillion budget through President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is beginning to attract support from a notable group: Democratic lawmakers.
Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz is the first Democratic lawmaker to join the House’s DOGE Caucus helmed by Republican Reps. Aaron Bean of Florida and Pete Sessions of Texas, according to a Tuesday press release.
“Today. I will join the Congressional DOGE Caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue,” Moskowitz wrote. “I’ve been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people.”
The Florida Democrat is asking the DOGE to examine the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) budget and has suggested that the commission recommend establishing the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — currently under DHS control — as independent agencies, according to Moskowitz’s press release.
Moskowitz’s Democratic colleague California Rep. Ro Khanna has also voiced support for the DOGE, particularly regarding the commission’s potential to trim the Department of Defense’s (DoD) nearly $900 billion budget.
The Republicans who joined Sanders in voting against the fiscal year 2024 national defense authorization act included Vice President-elect JD Vance and Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Mike Braun of Indiana. Most Republican lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, advocate for increased military spending.
