Republican governors and state lawmakers are rushing to explicitly align themselves with or mimic some of the most prominent actions President Donald Trump has taken since he was sworn in.
As state legislatures have convened across the country in recent weeks, elected GOP officials have sought to advance bills designed to help facilitate Trump’s mass deportation plans — some of which are named after or specifically reference the president. And governors and lawmakers in at least 11 states have attempted to create their own version of the Department of Government Efficiency, the outside advisory commission that Trump put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of to find ways to cut federal spending.
The moves, largely centered in solidly red states, at the outset of Trump’s second term underscore the political grip he has on the GOP base and the desire of elected officials in the party to be seen as nothing less than loyal to him.
“Whether you want to call it a mandate or just a strong victory, it wouldn’t seem unusual to me for state leaders to look to emulate the example” set by Trump, said Zack Roday, a Republican operative who has worked for the political arms of several conservative governors. “It makes perfect sense — the labeling is less the feature than the ethos and joining the wave that has swept across the country.”
The most recent example came in Oklahoma, where Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday issued an executive order to create a “Division of Government Efficiency” (called DOGE-OK) within the state’s agency in charge of human resources and information technology.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt at the White House in 2020.Saul Loeb / AFP – Getty Images file
A press release from Stitt said the agency would be designed to “focus on eliminating wasteful government spending, improving efficiency, and ensuring taxpayer dollars are being used effectively across state governments.”
Trump’s DOGE has already upended the federal government in just the past few weeks, with Musk gaining access to the Treasury Department’s payment system and suggesting that the U.S. Agency for International Development would be shut down.
Stitt’s office said the Oklahoma division will be led by a “chief DOGE advisor,” an unpaid position that reports directly to the governor. A Stitt spokesperson didn’t respond to questions from NBC News about who was being tapped to fill that position.
In New Hampshire, Gov. Kelly Ayotte similarly signed an executive order the day she was sworn in last month to create a “Commission on Government Efficiency” (COGE).
Ayotte’s commission is composed of 15 members appointed by her and legislative leaders, and will be charged with submitting to her “proposals to streamline government, cut inefficient spending, and find the most efficient ways to serve the people of New Hampshire.” The commission so far includes a former governor, current and former state lawmakers and some local business leaders.
Iowa Gov.