Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano is calling for major changes in how the state and federal governments handle taxpayer money, as he wants Pennsylvania to create its own Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, similar to the one backed by former President Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk at the national level.
Mastriano is asking Congress to back the federal DOGE program, which continues to focus on cutting government waste and spending.
The federal DOGE was started during Trump’s second term with the goal of shrinking government size and improving efficiency, claiming $105 billion in savings so far, according to its website.
The savings come from canceling contracts, ending government leases, reducing the number of federal workers, stopping grants, and selling off government-owned assets, which the program claims equals about $652.17 saved for each taxpayer in the United States.
However, these savings have been questioned. Journalist Judd Legum, who runs an independent newsletter called Popular Information, recently started a project called Musk Watch to track DOGE’s public claims.
According to Legum’s analysis, only $8.6 billion in savings can be verified, meaning the reported $105 billion in savings is overstated by 92%, a difference that has raised serious doubts about the program’s accuracy.
Despite these concerns, DOGE has been active in cutting federal spending, stopping $15 billion in contracts, ending $15 billion in grants, and saving $468 million by canceling real estate leases.
It has also suspended federal funding and laid off workers in agencies such as the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs, actions that led to legal challenges, including one lawsuit that claims the government illegally fired thousands of federal workers who were still in their probation period.
As other states begin to follow the DOGE model, Mastriano wants Pennsylvania to adopt a similar plan, following the steps of Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt, who signed an executive order in February creating the Oklahoma Division of Government Efficiency, and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who signed an order in December 2024 to begin a fiscal responsibility program in his state.
Alongside his call for Congress to support the federal DOGE, Mastriano has introduced a bill to create a Pennsylvania Department of Government Efficiency, which, according to a memo he shared with fellow lawmakers, would report to the General Assembly and have the authority to audit state agencies, stop payments, and suggest shutting down departments considered wasteful or no longer needed.
Unlike the federal version, Mastriano’s plan would not rely on a single leader but instead on a 10-member committee that includes one member from both the Pennsylvania House and Senate from each political party, one representative from the Auditor General’s office, one from the Treasury Department, and four citizens from around the state, with two citizens chosen by the House Speaker and two by the Senate President Pro Tempore.
This team would review every state agency to determine if they are still needed, whether their funding is justified, and if their original purpose still applies, and if problems are found, the team could pause the agency’s funding and explain the decision in a report, which would be made public for full transparency.
The committee would then decide whether the agency should continue receiving funding or the money should be returned to the state’s general fund for better use.
Mastriano explained that the goal is to ask clear questions such as when the agency was created, why it was needed at that time if it is still needed now, whether it is achieving its purpose, and if the funds can be better spent elsewhere.
Nonetheless, not everyone agrees with Mastriano’s plan, and Democratic State Senator Vincent Hughes, who is the minority chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it is not a good idea, telling ABC 27 News that the chaos seen at the federal level under DOGE should not be brought to Pennsylvania.
He pointed to firings and re-hirings of workers in Washington, D.C., as proof that DOGE causes more problems than it solves.
Hughes also said that Pennsylvania already has an Auditor General who can investigate state and local governments, including school districts, to find waste and improve efficiency. This position, which has existed for over 200 years, already has the authority to conduct reviews without the need for a new department.
Mastriano responded by stating the Auditor General does not have the power to suspend funds, which he sees as a serious weakness, and he believes his proposal fills that gap by allowing immediate action when waste is identified.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk remains confident in DOGE’s future, telling Fox Business in a recent interview that DOGE could save $1 trillion during Trump’s second term if the program continues and is not stopped, although he did not provide details on how that amount would be reached.
