Michigan Republicans launch DOGE task force amid $645 million funding claw back

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans have launched the Michigan DOGE Task Force, what they call “a new, legislator-led, citizen-focused initiative aimed at improving accountability and efficiency within state government.”

The announcement was made Thursday at a press conference led by Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton), who said it’s “dedicated to making government more transparent and responsive to the people it serves.”

Thirteen members of the House of Representatives now make up the organization: Reps. James DeSana, as chair of the task force, Ann Bollin, Steve Carra, Jaime Greene, Jay DeBoyer, Gina Johnsen, Joseph Pavlov, Bill Schuette, Bradley Slagh, Rachelle Smit, Donni Steele, Jason Woolford, and Jennifer Wortz.

The Michigan House Republicans are modeling their effort after the federal Department of Government Efficiency, previously led by billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk stepped down from the department earlier this year before it was effectively closed and absorbed by other department. But the impact of DOGE’s sweeping cuts across the federal government continues to be felt.

During Thursday’s press conference, Republican lawmakers said the mission of Michigan DOGE is to “restore trust in public institutions by identifying inefficiencies, reducing waste, and promoting responsible, taxpayer-first governance at every level of Michigan’s public sector.”

“We need to shrink the size of state government,” DeSana said.

DeSana outlined several Michigan DOGE goals, including efforts to trim Medicaid and food assistance spending, administrative costs -- specifically within K-12 education -- and an attempt to reduce the number of state government departments from 18 to 12.

“There are lots of areas of our government that we believe are inefficient, wasteful,” DeSana said. “As you saw with the budget process, we have placeholders for employees that haven’t been filled.”

The announcement came less than a day after Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall announced the House Appropriations Committee had voted to discontinue about $645 million in funding for special programs across the state, which were previously approved during budget negotiations.

The funding cuts affect dozens of organizations, including those dedicated to helping new mothers and children who are victims of abuse.

Michigan Democrats said that money was meant to “provide mental health support for children that have been sexually assaulted, community safety, veterans facilities, and more.”

“They don’t care if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, if you can’t afford health care, or if you’re retired and on a fixed income,” said Minority Leader Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton).

Puri said Republicans tapped into a rarely used budget provision to pull the money back to the state general fund, but he and his colleagues are exploring their options to stop the effort, including potential legal action.

“We’ve heard countless stories already of programs that have invoices that literally are going to make or break their program,” Puri said. “So just like you, we’re waiting to get answers and see what we can do.”

As for Michigan DOGE, DeSana said the task force held its first meeting on Wednesday, and plans are still loose. However, he did float the idea of combining the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy with the Department of Natural Resources.

He also proposed consolidating the Department of Health and Human Services with another unspecified department.

Hall said he is open to negotiating on special program funding. For now, it will be returned to the state general fund.

Democratic state lawmakers warn slashing funds at the state level would do significant damage to essential services.

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