Ask any good conservative in Idaho politics, and they’ll tell you Idaho’s budgets and government growth are out of control. They’re right. Now, throw in the biggest buzzword in politics for the last six months (the start of President Trump’s return to power), “DOGE.” Of course, that’s shorthand for the Department of Government Efficiency (headed at first by Trump pal and successful businessman, Elon Musk). It’s been wildly popular and effective so far.

Maybe Idaho should implement a DOGE? Sure, but first ask yourself this question: How would Trump’s DOGE have been received if, instead of appointing Elon Musk as its lead, he appointed a congressional DOGE committee headed by Mitt Romney and Mike Simpson with Chip Roy thrown in as a token conservative? 

Would President Trump get good results by appointing some of the very folks who voted for the bad laws and budgets in the first place? It just doesn’t make any sense to put some of the biggest spenders in Congress in charge of the watchdog force. 

To truly find and eliminate waste and inefficiency would require a third party (someone not in the legislature nor an executive branch agency) to honestly dig into the budgets, agencies, and their practices. Someone like Musk. 

The Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) has a record of doing just those things, and stands eager to do even more DOGE digging for Idaho. In fact, we’ve been doing it for 16 years now. We’ve done the analyses, made the recommendations, and offered our free advice, only to largely be ignored and maligned by the big spenders in the Capitol. In 2025 alone, our Spending Index identified 53 problematic spending bills, which were ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.

Perhaps Idaho wouldn’t be in this budget mess with an over-bloated government if the IFF had been followed more closely. It’s never too late to make a change for the better. Look at the IFF Spending Index, look at the budget analysis we do on every appropriations bill, look at our vast record of quality research. We have been happily doing DOGE before DOGE was cool. 

So, to cut government waste, reduce state spending, and set a standard for other states to follow, it’s easy. Follow the leader (Trump) and make true DOGE a thing in Idaho. Set up a non-legislative task force. Require a deep analysis of departments’ inefficiencies and waste. Follow it up by cutting the waste and reducing the spending. Other states are doing it, and Idaho should too. 

Sadly, that’s not what Idaho is doing. 

Nearly everything goes wrong when you leave it up to insider politicians.  

Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle and Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon thought DOGE bills and a DOGE committee would be easy wins. But it isn’t so easy after all. Here’s what Moyle and Anthon did: they championed two bills, both of which originated in the House, H14 and H364.  

The first, H14, known as the Idaho Code Cleanup Act, was a bill requiring Idaho state agencies to review Idaho statutes related to their responsibilities and report to the Legislature any unnecessary and wasteful statutes in the code. The Legislature could then draft bills to remove and revise Idaho laws “to ensure that the state laws provided in Idaho Code are streamlined, up-to-date, and essential for the citizens of Idaho, while best serving the public health, safety, and welfare.”

The second measure, H364, would establish the “Department of Government Efficiency Legislative Task Force” for Idaho. If anything is ripe for failure, it has to be something like setting up a government task force to find government waste.

From the bill:

“The state of Idaho recognizes the importance of efficient and responsible governance to best serve the interests of Idaho's citizens…Therefore, a dedicated legislative task force is necessary to review agency functions, regulatory processes, and budget authority to uphold Idaho's commitment to effective governance.”

Yes, the leaders’ DOGE plans were doomed to fail, and it’s already going wrong.  

Three Big Problems

Problem 1: It’s somewhat embarrassing, really; H14 will fail for two reasons. First is the self-reporting mechanism. Asking state agencies to suggest increased efficiencies from their own agencies by recommending statute changes is like asking mob bosses to suggest new laws to control cartels. You just aren’t going to get any real results.  

Second, H14 has the same lack-of-enforcement problem as the infamous H96 flag bill, which had exactly zero penalties for violations by Idaho cities. Similarly, there are no penalties for agencies that fail to file such reports or submit reports that are pathetically insufficient or weak. 

Problem 2: The bill to set up Idaho’s DOGE legislative task force passed the House, but like so many other bills, it died in Senate Chairman Guthrie’s dead-bill drawer. So, there is no Idaho law to create and fund the DOGE task force. It shouldn’t be happening.  

Did that end it? Nope, in a classic case of “we know better,” Speaker Moyle and Senate Pro Tem Anthon appointed a DOGE task force nonetheless. And, instead of addressing the inherent contradiction of appointing legislators to identify problems created by legislators and agencies, they created a task force with only legislators as members. 

Problem 3: Take a look at who they put on that task force. Eight members (four from each chamber), save one, are some of the biggest spenders in the Idaho Legislature. Seven of the eight (Rep. Heather Scott is the only exception) scored an “F” on the Idaho Freedom Foundation Spending Index:

Idaho DOGE Task Force

The leaders assembled a DOGE task force by appointing some of the most profligate spenders, including one who scored zero on the Spending Index (voting 100% for every wasteful budget bill). The average of the task force’s Spending Index scores is 35.5%.  Meaning, on average, those legislators vote for big spending (against the Spending Index) a full 64% of the time. 

The legislative leaders’ picks show they aren’t really serious about cutting spending and restoring efficiency with this task force.  

Author’s note: Historically, the IFF has opposed employing task forces in general, mainly because task forces cost money, achieve few if any positive results, and only create the appearance of “doing something.” Particularly in this case, the DOGE task force appears headed for failure due to its origin, composition, and the Legislature's reluctance to hold itself or agencies accountable for inefficiencies and/or waste.

Want Efficiency?

Last week, I reported on how Idaho should be taking cues from Argentina on how to truly cut government spending and create efficiency. Our Idaho leaders (Moyle and Anthon) don’t have any answers on this front. They refuse to accept help from professionals who are equipped to do the work.

Again, we at the Idaho Freedom Foundation are eager and happy to offer our help and expert budgeting advice to truly return Idaho's government to efficiency and responsibility. We have been analyzing and researching Idaho budgets and bills for over 15 years. We have experts such as Fred Birnbaum, Senior Policy Advisor; Sam Lair, Legislative Affairs Director (PhD candidate from Hillsdale); and Rachel Hazelip, Policy Director (MAPP from Liberty University). We have analysis, answers, and solutions.

Finally, I repeat, “If Argentina can cut its government and spending by 28% in one year, why can’t Idaho do that or more?” The ignorance and naivete displayed in these two bills, as well as the DOGE task force set up by Moyle and Anthon, provide all the answers you need. Sadly, Idaho will continue paying the price of inefficiency, and yet another ineffective task force. Please prove us wrong, we will happily help.