Blackburn drafts DOGE Act legislation that will limit federal agencies

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn on Thursday announced that she is currently drafting bills that will accompany billionaires Elon Musk's and Vivek Ramaswamy's efforts to reform the federal government.

President-elect Donald Trump tapped the two billionaires to head his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. The department is expected to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." 

Congress has already established caucuses and subcommittees that will work with the department. Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst will lead the Senate's caucus. 

Blackburn, who will sit on the Senate's committee, said her legislations would support the department's plan to make the government more efficient.

"My DOGE Act will freeze federal hiring, begin the process to relocate agencies out of the D.C. swamp, and establish a merit-based salary system for the federal workforce," Blackburn said in a post on X.

The federal hiring freeze will not impact public safety, national security, or public health services, and would give Trump's appointees the ability to reform their departments.

“Senator Blackburn is planning to introduce a package of bills – known as the DOGE Acts – aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for managing taxpayer dollars next week," a spokesperson for the senator told Just The News. "The DOGE Acts coincides with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan to make the federal government more efficient."

The bills would also require that federal employees return to working in their offices in person, and would create a commission on relocating non-national security related agencies outside of the greater D.C. area. 

The announcement occurred as Musk and Ramaswamy met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday, to discuss their plans for the department. Musk and Ramaswamy will not need to be confirmed by the Senate, but will need Congressional support to pass meaningful legislation.

Republicans will control both chambers of Congress and the White House next year.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.