'A lot of waste': Blackburn and Ramaswamy talk DOGE cuts

Last week, both Musk and Ramaswamy took to X, formerly Twitter, to say they'll also focus on defense spending cuts while heading up the DOGE advisory panel. 

"We need to strengthen our military by focusing on the *effectiveness* of our defense spending, rather than just reflexively increasing the magnitude," Ramaswamy wrote.

DOGE will expire in July 2026, he noted, on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 

"I think it was Reagan who famously said there's no such thing as a government program that doesn't live, it's the best evidence we have for eternal life," Ramaswamy said. "And you know, I don't think it has to be that way." 

Blackburn added that she has introduced legislation to halt federal salary increases and hiring until recommendations from DOGE are implemented, as well as a bill to reform the federal workforce, advocating for a shift from tenure-based promotions to a merit-based system.

When announcing the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said the panel would help his administration "slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

House Republicans are also jumping on the bandwagon to slash spending. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., introduced a new bill last week - the "Decreasing Overlapping Grants Efficiently (DOGE) Act" - that would establish a system for cutting down on redundant government grants across multiple departments.

"It's a big undertaking," Ramaswamy said. "But I do think that if we bring the public along and even allow the public to participate in airing areas where they're encountering government waste or bureaucracy and surface that we're able to make this something that isn't just top down, but also bottom up."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.