Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a bold new initiative on Monday, launching the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force to dismantle bureaucratic bloat and save taxpayer dollars, drawing inspiration from President Donald Trump’s federal DOGE effort. Speaking in Tampa, DeSantis promised to eliminate redundant boards, audit university spending, and use AI to root out hidden waste—moves conservatives hail as a model for states resisting liberal overreach. For Republicans, this is a victory for fiscal sanity, proving DeSantis is doubling down on his America First leadership.

DeSantis didn’t mince words at the announcement.

“Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance, and our new Florida DOGE task force will do even more to serve the people of Florida,” he said. “It will eliminate redundant boards and commissions, review state university and college operations and spending, utilize artificial intelligence to further examine state agencies to uncover hidden waste, and even audit the spending habits of local entities to shine the light on waste and bloat.”

He tied the effort to Trump’s federal DOGE, led by Elon Musk, which has already cut $55 billion in federal waste, targeting agencies like USAID and the Education Department’s DEI programs. DeSantis’ task force mirrors that mission, aiming to shrink Florida’s government while maintaining its status as having the lowest number of state workers per capita, per his office.

The announcement comes as Florida faces pressures from natural disasters and illegal immigration, with DeSantis calling a January special session to address those issues. He’s leveraging AI, per the Tampa announcement, to dig deeper into state spending, building on his 2023 veto of $1 billion in pork-barrel projects.

Posts on X cheered the move—one user wrote, “DeSantis is crushing it—Florida DOGE will gut the swamp like Trump’s doing federally.” Another added, “No more woke waste in Florida—brilliant!”

Republicans see this as a blueprint. Biden’s big-government policies bloated budgets nationwide, but DeSantis is leading the charge to reverse that, cutting taxes and regulations while boosting law enforcement. Trump’s January 20 “emergency price relief” memo signals the national push, and Florida’s DOGE aligns perfectly—less waste, more efficiency, and priority on Floridians.

With DOGE’s federal success and Congress pushing reconciliation, conservatives are ready to back DeSantis’ vision, ensuring Florida thrives as a model of fiscal discipline and American values, just as voters demand.