Ohio House DOGE Caucus Seeks to Streamline State Government Operations

TOLEDO, Ohio — A newly-formed group of lawmakers in Ohio is focused on making state government more efficient for its residents. The Ohio House DOGE Caucus, which includes 25 Republican members, is dedicated to reducing redundancies and streamlining government processes to create a more accessible and effective system for Ohioans.

Inspired by efforts at the federal level, particularly those led by Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency, the DOGE Caucus aims to find ways to improve Ohio’s governmental structure. Rep. Ty Mathews (R-Findlay), one of the vice chairs of the caucus, explained that its primary goal is to address inefficiencies within state government that hinder citizens from effectively interacting with it.

“We are looking at redundancies in government that make it difficult for people to interact with it,” Mathews said. “My hope for the caucus is that we’re making government better for the people—less redundant and more efficient.”

Currently, the Ohio legislature is in the process of crafting and adopting a new state budget for the next two years. Mathews and his fellow caucus members are reviewing budget line items to identify areas where spending can be reduced or programs consolidated to maximize efficiency.

Though the DOGE Caucus is inspired by Musk’s work at the federal level, Mathews made it clear that their approach is different. Unlike Musk’s role in federal government reforms, the Ohio caucus is not a government entity and does not have the authority to make direct cuts to the budget. Instead, the group plans to advocate for government efficiency and push for legislation that could streamline programs or agencies.

Other caucuses, both within the legislature and political parties, often focus on exchanging ideas or developing strategies to meet shared objectives. This is the primary goal of the DOGE Caucus, according to Mathews.

“I hope to create legislation that would create a committee, maybe with the state auditor, that would look at potential redundancies in agencies to give it a little more teeth,” Mathews explained. “The purpose of the caucus right now is to develop ideas. Then we’ll go through the legislative process to see if that is the will of Ohio.”

The caucus is chaired by Rep. Tex Fischer (R-Boardman), with Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) serving as the other vice chair. Mathews encouraged Ohioans to engage with members of the caucus and share suggestions on how to improve government efficiency.

“If you have those ideas, please reach out,” Mathews said, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the group’s work.

As the caucus continues to explore potential improvements to state government, their efforts may have lasting implications for Ohio’s bureaucracy, potentially reshaping how citizens interact with state services and how taxpayer dollars are spent.