FL DOGE Task Force To Cut Waste, Government Spending: DeSantis

FLORIDA — Florida will launch a Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force with the aim of scrutinizing spending at state universities and government, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.

The statewide version of Elon Musk’s new federal agency will be established “to further eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money and ensure accountability in Florida,” a news release from DeSantis’ office said.

“Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance, and our new Florida DOGE task force will do even more to serve the people of Florida,” according to the governor. “It will eliminate redundant boards and commissions, review state university and college operations and spending, utilize artificial intelligence to further examine state agencies to uncover hidden waste, and even audit the spending habits of local entities to shine the light on waste and bloat.”

Since taking office in 2019, Florida has cut government spending, including the number of state workers per capita, which is the lowest in the county, the news release said.

He claims to have saved the state $3.5 billion last year and said the state has paid down 41 percent of its debt.

The new Florida State DOGE Task Force will abolish 70 boards and commissions this year, review the spending of all colleges and universities, examine the operations of state agencies, and audit local governments.

“Florida will aid DOGE’s federal efforts to save taxpayers’ money by returning unused or surplus federal dollars allocated to the state,” the news release said.

The governor indicated it would use artificial intelligence and other technologies to determine where government spending can be cut in the state.

State Rep. Tiffany Esposito (R-Deltona) recently spearheaded a bill to create a Florida version of DOGE to give lawmakers more oversight over administrative spending and rules, ABC Action News said.

“Rules and regulations are burdensome to our businesses, right? Like, it costs time, and time is money,” she said. “So, I think it saves the government money in not having to look at that administrative piece of every single one, every single one of those rules and regulations— but more importantly, it saves our businesses money and saves our Floridians and our taxpayers money.”

Some state legislators, including Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) opposed the creation of such an agency, especially when looking at Musk’s DOGE initiative, reports said.

“I’m very concerned about any type of reference to what's happening at the federal level,” she said. “It’s not about efficiency; it’s about chaos.”

She added, “It’s ironic for Republican legislators to be doing this, as we’ve been under Republican control for about 30 years now. If there were problems with state agencies, you can do something about it.”

Nikki Fried, who chairs the Florida Democratic Party, also slammed the Florida DOGE task force after DeSantis announced its creation.

She said that the governor has “consistently passed the largest state budgets” in the state’s history, including using millions in taxpayer dollars to campaign against amendments on legalizing marijuana and abortion rights, and $250 million to tackle immigration.

“Ron DeSantis needs to shut his damn mouth,” Fried said. “Republicans have been in total control of Florida’s government for nearly 30 years, and he wants to talk about government waste?"