A DOGE in the Battle

Every Member of Congress will have a DOGE in the fight.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are leading the unofficial "Department of Government Efficiency," despite Congress not having voted to create it and no presidential executive order having been issued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated that it is unclear to him what the specific objective of the DOGE initiative is.

The incoming President Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy aim to reduce spending by up to $2 trillion in the next two and a half years. Congressional Republicans met with Musk and Ramaswamy on Capitol Hill last week, conveying the message that it's time to be thrifty.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, stated that Elon and Vivek discussed creating a "naughty list" and a "nice list" for members of Congress and senators, as well as how we vote and spend the American people's money.

Republican expectations for DOGE are stratospheric.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla, stated that we must begin reducing our budget promptly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, stated that every Republican is focused on reducing fraud, waste, and abuse.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., stated that we cannot continue to do everything for everyone.

Soon, legislative reality may thwart Republican political aspirations for DOGE and spending cuts.

"According to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., the task at hand will necessitate statutory authority, which means it will need to be reviewed by the relevant committees. However, even with this authority, the implementation of the plan will require sufficient funding, and obtaining the necessary votes to put it into action will be a challenge."

Congressional cuts are not created by magic; they require floor votes, and the House is barely controlled by Republicans.

Jeffries stated that the House Republican majority will not be able to accomplish much without our support.

In January, the House Republicans begin the new Congress with a 219-215 advantage over the Democrats. However, this advantage slips to a margin of one vote in late January when Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., leaves to become National Security Adviser. Additionally, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will depart after the Senate confirms her for United Nations Ambassador. As a result, Republicans have no votes to spare to do things on their own.

Plus, many Democrats aren’t enamored with Elon Musk.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Tex., the incoming chairman of the House Progressive Caucus, stated that Elon Musk has largely proven himself to be an efficient liar and self-serving plutocrat, and so he doesn't have high hopes for him having anything other than pretty awful ideas.

The duo of Musk and Ramaswamy are political icons, but their ambitious effort to cut federal spending is not the first. Some "blue ribbon" commissions have lacked the star power of the dynamic duo.

In 1993, a highly publicized and successful attempt to reduce the federal government's size and scope was launched by President Clinton and Vice President Gore. They pledged to "reinvent government" and bring about changes in Washington. While their initiative wasn't primarily focused on debt reduction, they aimed to reduce the federal government's influence.

"In six months, we will have tangible outcomes and concrete proposals to present," Gore stated in March 1993. "Please record this and follow up with us. We won't be providing another report to gather dust. We require a practical plan of action."

Over time, the federal government has regained the jobs lost during the Clinton-Gore approach, with a current employment of about three million workers.

In 2010, Sen. Pete Domenici and Budget Committee Chairman, along with Alice Rivlin, Clinton Budget Director, created a budget plan known as "Domenici-Rivlin" in Washington. The plan aimed to help the US recover from the 2008 recession and reduce debt. They attempted to address the rising healthcare costs. Although some of their recommendations were adopted by lawmakers over the years, the impact was minimal.

In 2011, the U.S. faced a debt ceiling crisis. Congress created a "supercommittee" to reduce spending, but it failed to agree on a plan. As a result, automatic sequestration spending cuts were implemented, which would cut about $1 trillion in federal spending each year.

President Obama signed an executive order to create a bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility and reform, which was led by former Senate Majority Whip Alan Simpson and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The commission's proposals, known as "Simpson-Bowles," included cuts to military spending, tax hikes, and a gasoline tax. Although Congress adopted some individual recommendations from Simpson-Bowles, the House rejected a budget based on the commission's plan in 2012.

President-elect Trump was questioned by NBC's Kristen Welker on Meet the Press about his plans for cutting spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which are the most expensive government programs.

The next president stated, "We will not interfere with Social Media, but individuals will receive what they are entitled to."

"So the entitlement's off the table?" asked Welker.

Mr. Trump responded, "We're not increasing ages or anything of that nature."

"Off the table?" followed up Welker.

"I won't do it," said the President-elect.

Despite Trump's claims, several congressional Republicans have advocated for changing the retirement age to reduce entitlement spending, which consumes over 60% of federal funds. This measure is believed to make entitlements more sustainable.

Medicare has some waste, abuse, and fraud, according to Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo. He also suggested that on the front end of Social Security, as people are living longer and retiring later, it may be possible to move the retirement age back a little bit.

The Pentagon receives half of the annual money allocated by Congress, and Congressional Republicans aim to increase military funding in the upcoming year.

Democrats argue that insufficient funds exist to reduce spending in other regions in order to compensate for the shortfall.

According to Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., on Fox, you won't be able to achieve the necessary savings to balance the budget solely through government efficiency.

The GOP demands concrete action on spending cuts instead of merely discussing it.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex, stated that it is not possible to run on a platform of freedom, limited government, low taxes, low spending, reducing the deficit, and then not implement these policies.

Lawmakers face tough challenges when it comes to budget cuts, as voters will closely monitor what they keep and eliminate, and there could be political consequences for making too many cuts or not fulfilling promises.