Republicans want to bring ‘DOGE’ to South Carolina

https://www.wistv.com/app/2025/02/13/republicans-want-bring-doge-south-carolina/

By Mary Green

Published: Feb. 13, 2025 at 6:34 PM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Leaders at the South Carolina State House are trying to bring Washington, D.C., to Columbia — or at least a part of it.

One of the hallmarks of the first few weeks of the second Trump administration has been the creation of the controversial Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Now Republicans at the State House want to establish DOGE in South Carolina.

“We don’t have an Elon Musk in South Carolina, but it will be similar to what’s going on in Washington,” House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R – Pickens, said.

Near-identical resolutions filed in the House of Representatives and the Senate would create a new government efficiency commission, which proponents say would look for fraud, waste, and abuse.

It would be made up of nine voting members, with the governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House each naming three appointments, while the non-voting chair would be picked by the Department of Administration.

None of the members could be sitting state lawmakers.

The lead sponsor of the Senate resolution, Republican Stephen Goldfinch of Georgetown County, said he envisions members would be industry leaders in South Carolina.

“I don’t think we’re going to make a lot of hay when it comes to cutting hundreds of millions or billions out of our budget,” Goldfinch said. “I think we will find overburdensome regulations, which will save our state’s industries millions or hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The commission would eventually issue a report to the legislature, which would have the final say on whether to implement any of its recommendations.

Existing bodies serve a similar function in South Carolina, made up of lawmakers and state employees, including legislative oversight committees in both chambers of the General Assembly and the Legislative Audit Council.

Gov. Henry McMaster told reporters Thursday he believes creating another entity made up of government outsiders is a worthwhile idea.

“We probably need a mix: Someone who knows their way around the agencies and has heard of them and their functions, but also you need people that can look at it with fresh eyes. That’s always very important, and that’s, of course, what President Trump’s doing,” McMaster said.

But some Democrats said while they support improved government efficiency, they think this is a political stunt from Republicans.

“If we truly have all these inefficiencies they’re worried about, it would appear that after 22 years of being in control that they would’ve already been able to identify and root those inefficiencies out,” Rep. Roger Kirby, D – Florence, said.

This idea is still in the early phases of the legislative process.

But with the twin resolutions filed in the House and the Senate, backed by some of the most powerful lawmakers in the General Assembly, there is a clear desire to implement it within the next few months and for the commission to issue its first report by October of this year.