The Trump Administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has wrought havoc on the federal government, diminishing its ability to perform essential work—like administering Social Security benefits for retirees, weather forecasting to predict tornadoes, and environmental pollution cleanup—while creating new inefficiencies and increased public costs. Now, many Republican governors and state lawmakers are demonstrating their loyalty to the Trump administration by setting up state-level versions of DOGE.

Despite the novel branding, these initiatives are part of the longstanding right-wing mission to capture and consolidate government in service of the wealthy. In fact, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s roadmap for deconstructing the federal government—which the Trump administration has followed almost to a T—is rooted in decades of state-level efforts to weaken democracy, suppress workers’ rights, and deepen inequality.

At least 26 states across the country have launched DOGE-style efforts purportedly related to “government efficiency” through legislation, executive action, or the creation of new legislative committees. While these initiatives vary, they all use disingenuous calls to “root out inefficiency” and “cut wasteful spending” as a smokescreen for the same right-wing agenda many conservative state lawmakers and their allies have pursued for decades: consolidating power in the hands of a minimally accountable executive, attacking public-sector workers, and cutting public services in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy.