Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah Rep. Blake Moore will lead a new caucus targeting government efficiency.
- The caucus will collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
- Efforts focus on reducing regulations and addressing national debt and government spending.
WASHINGTON — Utah Rep. Blake Moore announced he will lead a new congressional caucus that will work with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency to cut what he calls "wasteful government spending" and burdensome regulations.
Moore on Friday announced the creation of a Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus for the next congressional session, which he will co-chair alongside Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Florida, and Pete Sessions, R-Texas. He said the caucus would work alongside President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency — a non-governmental entity to slash regulations, spending and the federal workforce.
Lee will also serve as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as previously announced.
Trump picked businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the department. Musk — the owner of X, SpaceX and a major backer of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign — has said he thinks the government efficiency department can help the new administration cut "at least $2 trillion" of the federal government's $6.5 trillion budget.
"On the House Ways and Means and Budget committees, I have been laser-focused on addressing our crippling national debt, rooting out wasteful government spending, and getting our fiscal house back in order," Moore said. "With the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, we have a great opportunity before us to identify areas of government inefficiency, cultivate a solutions-first approach to our challenges, and reform our systems to better steward our resources and serve the American people."
Moore said he's "honored" to help lead the committee, and "alongside Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, President Trump, and our Senate partners, we will make America efficient again." The congressman met with Musk, Ramaswamy and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, on Thursday.
Great introductory meeting with @elonmusk and @VivekGRamaswamy as DOGE gets underway. I'm very excited to kick off the DOGE Caucus as a co-chair as we work to cut federal waste, fraud, and abuse at this crucial time. #utpolpic.twitter.com/xdz5ATOFDy
— Congressman Blake Moore (@RepBlakeMoore) December 5, 2024
Utah Sen. Mike Lee attended the meeting and said Must and Ramaswamy "referred to the fact that, because unelected bureaucrats now make most federal law and control much of our economy, we've been stripped of the benefits of a constitutional republic." He said the U.S. is going through a "major upheaval" akin to the American Revolution, the start of the Civil War and what he described as the erosion of federalism during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration in 1937.
"This next era MUST be about reinstating the Constitution's core, structural protections — both the vertical protection of federalism and the horizontal separation-of-powers," he added in a lengthy thread on X. "Congress needs to step up aggressively. It's time to open this next chapter where WE, the American people, take back control from unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats who've been running our government like it's their personal sandbox, treating us like their toys — or, better said — their subjects."
"This needs to be fixed," Musk added on X. "Should be rule by democracy, not rule by bureaucracy!"
