Johnson promises to reduce government spending and tackle the 'regulatory state' with a 'blowtorch.

House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that he "intends to" reduce funding for Planned Parenthood and PBS as Republicans search for methods to minimize government expenditures through the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

On "The Story" with Martha MacCallum on Planet Chronicle, Johnson, R-La., stated that Republicans are "committed" to saving American taxpayers money and pledged to "eliminate" regulations.

He stated that government is too large and inefficient, and it needs to be scaled back.

Johnson stated that the creation of DOGE presents a "generational opportunity" to bring about transformative change within the administrative state and limit wasteful government spending.

In November, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to lead DOGE, stating on his Truth Social account that they would help him dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce regulations, cut unnecessary spending, and restructure federal agencies as part of the "Save America" movement.

At the Madison Square Garden rally in October, Trump proposed cutting the U.S. budget by "at least" $2 trillion, as suggested by Musk.

Johnson invited Ramaswamy and Musk to Capitol Hill on Thursday to hold a "brainstorming session" with Senate and House Republicans to formulate plans for the new Congress.

The Oversight Committee has been actively working on identifying areas of waste, fraud, and abuse, and will be replaced by a new subcommittee that will focus on finding easy cuts. The goal is to reduce the regulatory state.

"We possess the necessary ingredients and the ideal conditions to bring about significant transformation."

In January, the U.S. House's priorities will be to eliminate wasteful government spending, extend the Trump tax cuts, and pass legislation on border security and energy policy, as Johnson stated.