Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman (D) announced Tuesday that he will join the Congressional Excellence in Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, which aims to serve as a counterpart to the new Department of Government Efficiency in President-elect Trump's administration. did.
Landsman joined Blake Berman on NewsNation's “The Hill” on Tuesday when asked if he would follow fellow Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida into the caucuses.
“Oh, yeah, you should be in your room,” he said. “If you want to influence and influence change, you want to be in the room.”
Moskowitz is the first Democrat to caucus, noting that he believes in “streamlining” government processes, noting that making government effective and efficient “should be a partisan issue. Not,” he said.
Landsman agreed, arguing that lawmakers should work together on committees that balance the budget and find solutions to government spending.
“Why don't you want to be in the room? Why don't you want to work together?” Landsman said. “So there's an opportunity for me to think that both sides will say, 'Oh, that's abuse,' or 'That's a waste of money,' or 'That's duplicity.'
Landsman noted that Republicans and Democrats in the caucus may have different opinions, but they can't debate them “unless they're in the room.”
The caucus is led by Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas) in the House, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in the Senate. .
President Trump's new department, called DOGE, will be led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The formation of the caucus serves as a reminder that DOGE cannot cut government spending or jobs without Congressional approval.
Landsman told Congress that he has always forced his colleagues to work across the aisle.
“If there's an opportunity for a bipartisan solution, that's a better solution for me,” he said. “Most of the time, that's going to be better than something that's extremely partisan.”
“So whether it's making government more efficient, balancing the budget, the border or fixing the economy, I hope that Democrats will come to the table and I'm sure they will.” Landsman continued. .
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