Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said he would join the House DOGE Caucus next year, becoming the first Democrat to align himself with GOP-led efforts to crack down on government efficiency and slash federal agencies.
Moskowitz announced the move Tuesday, arguing that efforts to streamline governmental processes and reorganize the federal government should not be partisan. The Florida Democrat outlined several ways he believes that could be done, including by removing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secret Service from the direction of the Department of Homeland Security.
“I’ve been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “The Caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House. It’s not practical to have 22 agencies under this one department.”
It’s not clear whether other Democrats may join the caucus, which was created to work in tandem with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency under the incoming Trump administration. However, there have been instances of some Democrats supporting efforts to work on government efficiency, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), so it’s possible others may soon follow suit.
Moskowitz’s announcement comes as Musk and Ramaswamy are expected to meet Thursday with House Republicans on Capitol Hill to discuss “major reform ideas,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said last week.
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The visit comes as the pair have sought to flesh out their goals over the next two years before their self-given expiration date of July 4, 2026.
“We are prepared for the onslaught from entrenched interests in Washington,” they wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal detailing their plans. “We expect to prevail.”