The DOGE caucus is planning for a big impact, looking at the tools that are important to speed up cutting waste

FIRST ON FOX: At the second caucus meeting of the Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led discussions on how to effectively and quickly begin cutting waste across the government.

The new 18-member caucus met Thursday morning and strategized on how to avoid some of the pitfalls other similar efforts have faced.

“The Senate DOGE Caucus is hitting the ground running on the first day of the Trump administration to cut government,” Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The Biden bloat has created a rich target area for finding ways to eliminate waste and make the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and after today, I feel confident that we have plans that will work as an action. Take part in Congress to deliver to the taxpayers.”

OHIO GOV DEWINE CHOOSES LT GOVERNMENT TO FILL VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT JD VANCE’S VACANT SEAT.

For years, Ernst has been taking inventory of the government’s waste, giving the caucus a list of areas that should begin to eliminate extreme discrimination and make government more effective.

Other specific targets of the caucus are federal telework, IRS agents with unpaid taxes and US funding to foreign laboratories with little accountability.

Caucus members have mapped out how to deal with these issues in a way that ensures they can get “more bites at the apple,” according to Ernst’s office.

DESANTIS ANNOUNCES SCENE SELECTION AFTER RUBIO’S EXPECTED SPEECH

Ernst audited the IRS himself. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

To do this, Republicans plan to use tools like the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which can be used to overturn laws imposed by federal agencies, and budget reconciliation.

The budget reconciliation process is already expected to be a key vehicle for Republican tax goals and immigration policy, and the party has also signaled it could pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator even suggested that they could introduce three such bills during the 119th Congress.

The advantage of passing legislation through budget reconciliation is that it requires a simple majority and is not subject to the 60-vote threshold for a legislative filibuster. The CRA is similarly immune to the filibuster.

CONFIRMATION DELAYS PROCEEDING OF TRUMP NOMINEE AS ​​PAPERS DAMAGED AT STATE OFFICES

The Republicans plan to hit the ground running with their young majority. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The caucus also plans to work with President-elect Trump on executive orders aimed at curbing government waste.

The 18 members of the caucus serve on many different Senate committees, giving them a comprehensive view of where the most waste is.

DEM SENATE DESTROYED HEGSETH’S RESULTS REPRESENTED BY DOD SEC WHICH CAUSED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL

President-elect Trump tapped Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy, right, to lead DOGE. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM

Last year, Ernst took the opportunity to lay out a plan that cuts $2 trillion in what he says is waste. In it, he recommends selling off vacant government buildings, investigating the IRS and shooting tax-debtor agents, and curtailing seemingly nonsensical or “stupid” government studies, among other things.

The DOGE was announced earlier by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former president Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new advisory board aimed at reducing government waste.