While Washington under Trump sought to “drain the swamp,” Texas lawmakers are filling it back up. The state’s latest budget is a glaring indictment of government excess, and it’s missing a critical weapon against waste: DOGE, the Delivery of Government Efficiency committee.
The name may sound quirky, but the mission is serious. DOGE was created to audit state government, eliminate inefficiency, and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse. Yet despite this legislative mandate, the committee is nowhere to be found in the current budget discussion. There is no spotlight, no funding, no reports, nothing.
Instead, the budget includes $2.6 billion for across-the-board raises and benefit increases for government employees. That’s a reward system for a bureaucracy that hasn’t been held accountable. Texas’ state and local governments already employ nearly 1.9 million people—almost as many as the federal civilian workforce. And unlike the private sector, these jobs are rarely tied to performance, productivity, or outcomes.
Without DOGE, there’s no watchdog, no scorecard to show Texans where their money is going—or how much is being wasted. A functioning DOGE committee could expose unused funds, redundant programs, outdated regulations, and overlapping jurisdictions, saving taxpayers billions.
The irony is rich. In a year when Texas has a $24 billion surplus and a $28 billion Rainy Day Fund, lawmakers are spending with abandon and refusing to ask hard questions. They’re expanding agencies, launching new programs, and increasing employee perks while ignoring the mandate to examine how government functions.
This isn’t fiscal conservatism. It’s bureaucratic complacency. And it’s unsustainable.
Texans deserve better. They deserve a legislature that doesn’t just spend money but questions how and why it’s spent. They deserve a budget that reflects scrutiny, not sloppiness. Until DOGE is empowered and unleashed, the promise of limited government in Texas will remain hollow.
If there’s no DOGE in the budget, there’s no serious commitment to good government. And that’s reason enough to vote no.
For more information on the DOGE Committee’s objectives and initiatives, visit Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
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