- The forthcoming DOGE commission has been the talk of Washington in recent months.
- Just miles away, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland is pushing his own government efficiency plans.
- Moore wants to save the state $50 million by weeding out waste.
President-elect Donald Trump’s planned Department of Government Efficiency has been the talk of Washington, especially since Tesla CEO Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the effort.
A perhaps less talked about but also significant government efficiency effort, however, is also taking shape not far from Capitol Hill.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland announced this month his state would launch an initiative to weed out waste. His goal: Find $50 million in savings for the current fiscal year.
Maryland faces a $3 billion budget gap. So Moore is proposing $2 billion in spending reductions to his $67.3 billion budget plan. An executive order that Moore signed earlier this month directs state agencies to identify cost savings and eliminate redundancies.
Moore told Business Insider in a recent interview that while he didn’t know DOGE’s full slate of proposals, he thinks they “should probably take a look” at what his administration is doing to boost government efficiency in Maryland.
“We’re looking at everything from fleet management to how we’re looking at IT consolidation to how we’re looking at real estate,” he said. “These items alone are going to save the state of Maryland tens of millions of dollars.”
“DOGE should pay attention to what we’re doing with our government modernization,” he added.
Moore is a first-term Democrat leading one of the country’s bluest strongholds, while the DOGE is a national GOP-led effort. When asked if more Democrats should embrace government efficiency efforts, Moore said voters are looking for results.
“If people are asking, ‘Where’s the future, and what should I look to for inspiration?’ I would say, ‘look at the states,'” he said. “The budget that I just proposed is giving a tax cut to nearly two-thirds of Marylanders — and 82% of the people in my state are either about to get a tax cut or have no change at all in their tax code.”
Moore told BI his plan would cut corporate taxes and eliminate the inheritance tax. The plan would also create a 6.25% tax rate for single filers making at least $500,000 and a 6.5% tax rate for state residents who earn $1 million or more. Under the current tax code, single filers in Maryland who make over $250,000 have an income tax rate of 5.75%.
Similar to the optimism of DOGE’s leaders, Moore believes his state’s efforts can serve as a model for forthcoming efficiency efforts.
“We’re doing a lot of things that people are paying attention to… and a lot of innovation that we’re hoping for is actually happening within our state,” he said. “I’m really proud that Maryland is helping to lead the charge on that.”
