Taking a cue from efforts by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to cut government funding and employees, Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina are emphasizing their own efforts to scrutinize the work of state government.
On Thursday an oversight committee in the Republican-led state House summoned several top state government leaders to testify under oath about their offices’ work.
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Republicans have been in full control of state government spending in North Carolina for the last 14 years. However, the allegations of fraud and waste made by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, have grabbed the attention of conservative voters. That has led local politicians to want to show voters they’re paying attention, too.
“We’ve all seen the news, the DOGE, and I get dizzy trying to keep up with it,” said Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford. “I knew there was waste and abuse in government, but I never knew the extent of it.”
One of the main targets of ire at the hearing was Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Wayne Goodwin — who announced his plans to step down just a day earlier.
Lawmakers lit into Goodwin for over an hour, mostly over complaints about long lines at the DMV. Goodwin acknowledged the problems but said the wait times have improved under his tenure in the last few years. He implored lawmakers to put more money and attention into helping whoever succeeds him open more offices, invest in new technology and otherwise try to modernize the department.
“As we grow, it’s going to get worse if we do the same thing the same way,” Goodwin said.
State-level DOGE
Also testifying Thursday was Revenue Secretary McKinley Wooten, who leads tax collection efforts in North Carolina. Lawmakers grilled Wooten over whether he has any policies in his office focused on diversity, equity and inclusion — which have also come under scrutiny at the federal level. Wooten said there are no DEI programs in the state’s tax office.
Rep. Brian Echevarria, R-Cabarrus, said he was glad to hear that. He also said he was glad to hear when Wooten promised full compliance with an effort House Republicans set up last month, seeking to copy Musk’s program.
“So obviously, everyone’s excited about DOGE,” Echevarria said. “Well, most people. However, we have some people not excited about eliminating fraud, saving taxpayer money and that sort of thing.”
One of those skeptics was sitting next to Echevarria at Thursday’s hearing.
“I don’t know anybody who’s excited about DOGE,” said Rep. Zack Hawins, D-Durham, whose district has already been hit by layoffs at companies and nonprofits funded by federal grants that Trump has halted.
More layoffs could come in the Triangle, especially if Trump’s plan to cut billions of dollars in medical and scientific research grants from the National Institutes of Health — currently held up in court — is allowed to be implemented.
Duke University in Durham is one of the country’s biggest recipients of NIH grant funding, with many jobs funded by grants totalling hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It’s also the second-largest private employer in the state. Other than Duke, only Walmart employs more North Carolinians.
Blust said just because supporters of government programs can point to good things the money has accomplished doesn’t mean those programs should be considered untouchable.
“Defenders of the spending fall back on the broad category it's under,” Blust said. “Like, ‘How can you question this? You don't want to feed hungry children?’ And they don't want the detailed look at it.”
‘Not efficient or effective’
One of the leaders of the state House of Representative’s new DOGE group — officially called the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency — is Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston. Torbett told WRAL last week the group had yet to announce its first major efforts, but planned to do so soon.
On Thursday the questioning of state leaders was not always as antagonistic as the approach Musk has taken to the federal workforce. Although the meeting was a chance for Republican lawmakers to question some of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s top aides, many lawmakers expressed a desire to work together on efforts to make government work better for the people.
“I’m confident some of the programs we fund are not efficient or effective,” Rep. Tim Reeder, R-Pitt, said Thursday. “They may have been well intentioned, but they're no longer that.”
Reeder asked State Budget Director Kristin Walker Thursday about her efforts to identify inefficient state programs. She said that’s a daily part of her job.
“We’re always looking for, ‘What is the evidence behind that program?’” she said. “‘Why are you running that program instead of a different program? How do you know, as an agency, that that program is working?’”
Walker, Wooten and Goodwin were among half a dozen state leaders summoned to testify
All of those summoned Thursday are part of the Stein administration except Briner, a Republican who won election to the treasurer’s office in November.