President Donald Trump has big plans to tackle government efficiency and accountability during his new administration. This includes implementing the federal Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. This effort will provide the White House with guidance on how to cut back on excessive bureaucracy and streamline processes.
Among the states looking to take DOGE to the local level are Idaho and Montana. In fact, Idaho Speaker of the House Mike Moyle recently introduced HB 14: Idaho Code Cleanup Act.
Speaker Moyle said in a tweet: “We’re going to take a close look at state agencies this year, and make sure they’re fulfilling not only their legislative mandates, but working for the people of Idaho.”
From the text of Idaho HB 14: “It is the intent of the legislature to ensure that the state laws provided in Idaho Code are streamlined, up-to-date, and essential for the citizens of Idaho, while best serving the public health, safety, and welfare. To this end, the legislature recognizes the need for a comprehensive effort to review the Idaho Code for the purpose of eliminating bureaucracy. Accordingly, in the interest of addressing the accumulation of unnecessary provisions, the purpose of this chapter is to establish an efficient process for the identification of provisions that are obsolete, outdated, or unnecessary so that such provisions may be considered for removal.”
DOGE-type reforms have support across the country. For example, the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) sent a letter in support of DOGE. They wrote: “We are writing today to express our overwhelming support for President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Initiative and request that Congress work alongside him to solidify the efficiencies that are found into law. As chief executives for our states, we know a thing or two about streamlining government, removing unnecessary bureaucracy, and bringing efficient, result-driven solutions to state government. We stand by President Trump as he works to do the same with the federal government.”
In the Mountain States, Idaho Governor Brad Little and Montana Governor Greg Gianforte have applauded the efforts by DOGE. Governor Gianforte said: “In your new roles, you face an enormous challenge in reducing spending that has left us more than $36 trillion in debt, eliminating the unnecessary bloat of the administrative state, and cutting regulations that hold back American innovators, businesses, and workers, as a businessman and entrepreneur, I know that cutting unnecessary, burdensome regulations is central to opening the doors of greater opportunity for our citizens to achieve the American dream.”
The outgoing Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu pointed to Idaho as a great example of how DOGE should work. He specifically points to 2019, when Idaho Governor Brad Little and the legislature passed the Red Tape Reduction Act and the Licensing Freedom Act of 2019. As of August 2024, these acts have shrunk the Idaho Administrative Code from 8,553 to 5,318 pages.
Governor Little said this in his recent State of the State address: “There is no doubt Idaho is on a roll. Even Elon Musk posted on social media three times in one day about Idaho’s red tape reduction successes. We know we have caught the attention of the rest of the country. President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency is already looking to Idaho for the blueprint on how to cut red tape, stimulate economic growth, and streamline government. Idaho stands ready to partner with the Trump administration. As the least regulated state in the country, Idaho has an incredible story to share – one worth replicating elsewhere, including Washington, D.C.”
While DOGE is a fantastic idea, the challenging part will be enacting the policies necessary to trim down the federal government. Musk commented that they will initially target “the $500 billion-plus in annual federal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended.”
It’s encouraging to see a movement for reducing government bureaucracy and wasteful spending across the nation. The federal DOGE effort to support measures that increase governmental transparency and accountability is a great start and it can learn a thing or two from the great work already happening in Idaho and Montana.
