Former Congressman Justin Amash expressed interest on Friday in contributing to the newly planned Department of Government Efficiency, offering his assistance to co-commissioners Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over social media.
“.@elonmusk and @VivekGRamaswamy, if you’d like help finding the waste, fraud, and abuse, hit me up. Happy to assist in any way I can with the @DOGE,” Amash posted on X. “I kept all the receipts from my ‘nay’ votes on absurd spending bills that passed Congress overwhelmingly and were signed into law.”
Amash, who represented Michigan’s third congressional district in Congress as a Republican for several terms before later becoming the Libertarian Party’s first-ever sitting member in 2020, served eight years on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Earlier in his career, he also sat on the Budget and Joint Economic Committees.
President-elect Donald Trump first announced plans for the Department of Government Efficiency on Wednesday, stating that it would “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” He appointed X CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the initiative. The department announced on Thursday that it is now actively accepting applications for various roles.
“We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE,” the department posted on X. “We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
It remains unclear to what extent the department will have the authority to enact reforms or how it will interact with other aspects of the federal government.
“The notion of a Department of Government Efficiency seems to me like something that should rank up there with terms like Military Intelligence, Post Office Economy, IRS Compassion, and so on….”
So true. Each times DOGE’s mentioned I am reminded of the “Department of Administrative Affairs” from “Yes, Minister” (the best thing BBC ever did):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzCy5mffw8E
While it obviously concentrates on British politics (Thatcher described it as disturbingly true to life), a lot of it carries over to the US (or any other country) like this, and I would heartily recommend anyone who hasn’t watched it yet, to do so, as well as it’s sequel “Yes, Prime Minister”. They really are amazingly good; it’s unbelievable the BBC let it be produced.
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“IIRC, Amash voted Yes on the first Trump impeachment”
Indeed. And it does not speak well to his decision making abilities. If you are going to vote to impeach Trump, at least have the decency to do it for the right reasons not the wrong ones.
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“Is this just a ploy to regain any relevance?”
Sure sounds like it, doesn’t it.
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“a Department which can only be created by Congress and would if anything likely expand into another undesirable bureaucracy.”
That is the entire purpose of government departments. But you – and Unimportant – are correct that DOGE is not supposed to be one of those – though I’m not so sure whether it will be purely a volunteer effort or whether it will be like a government contracted consultancy firm (paid for either publicly, or privately by Trump and/or Musk).
I covered that earlier. Scroll down.
I believe this is supposed to be an advisory commission at the President’s discretion, similar to the Grace Commission, not a Department which can only be created by Congress and would is anything likely expand into another undesirable bureaucracy.
If it is supposed to be a Department, the X demand for $96 to apply and promise of 80 hour weeks is asking for trouble with the Civil Service.
Anyone?
Is this just a ploy to regain any relevance?
IIRC, Amash voted Yes on the first Trump impeachment (I agreed with him on that vote).
I wonder if that makes him radioactive in Trump world. That would be a shame, because Amash would be an asset for this effort.
I think Justin Amash would help in the effort. The problem is that the new department will not have power to eliminate any government agency. Only Congress can do that.
Since he’s an actual small government guy and not a grifter using eminent domain to enrich himself or regulations that apply only to his competitors, they’ll probably pass.
It’s not a government department or job. It’s a volunteer effort by Musk, Ramaswamy and others who want to join them. I first read about the idea in I think either Liberty Magazine or Reason in the 1990s or early 2000s. Although, their version would have been an actual government agency, presumably with paychecks.
“Appointing 2 people to do 1 job is good start to “department of government efficiency” – Darth Putin
I thought that DOGE was a crypto-coin of dubious repute?
The notion of a Department of Government Efficiency seems to me like something that should rank up there with terms like Military Intelligence, Post Office Economy, IRS Compassion, and so on….
ART
LINO Amash cannot and should never be trusted. Then again, neither can Trump himself. And if you’re bringing aboard the likes of Rubio, Gabbard, Noem, Wiles and Homan already anyway, you might as well throw him into the mix too in hopes that they cancel out each others worst aspects to some degree.
“Step over the threshold, get on board the ship of fools; the jester is our leader, and we’re searching for forbidden fruit.”