In a letter sent to Musk and Ramaswamy and obtained by the Washington Examiner, Ernst made a list of 22 areas worth a combined $1 trillion that she deems worthy of slashing to give the DOGE a head start in its task of making massive cuts to federal spending and the government workforce.

Ernst, known for her “Make ‘Em Squeal” awards targeting wasteful spending, said making the “porkers squeal” has been a “lonely fight” until now.

“While you’re seeking ‘super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries’ for ‘unglamorous costcutting,’ all that’s really needed is a little common sense,” Ernst wrote. “If you can’t find waste in Washington, there can only be one reason: you didn’t look.”

Among the items she lists are auditing the Internal Revenue Service, a pet project of Ernst’s over the last several months after a report she requested found over 5,800 IRS and contractor employees owed nearly $50 million in back taxes. A letter from the IRS alerted Ernst that 800 employees still owe millions in unpaid taxes.

In her letter, the Iowa Republican thanked the men for “stepping up” to save taxpayers from “Washington’s out-of-control spending.”

Many of Ernst’s recommended areas include President Joe Biden-era programs, such as the bipartisan infrastructure plan that dedicated $7.5 billion to electric vehicle charging stations and $42 billion to expand broadband in rural communities.

“Three years later, just 17 EV stations are completed and not a single person—not one—has been connected to the internet yet,” Ernst claimed. “It’s time to pull the plug.”

Just in time for the holiday season, Ernst pointed to federal government spending sprees — including $4.6 million on lobster tails and crab and $2.1 million on “games and toys.”

“For the sake of taxpayers, DOGE needs to be the Grinch,” the Iowa senator said.

Last week, Ernst announced she will lead the DOGE Caucus, along with founding Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and James Lankford (R-OK).

Ernst’s extensive hog and “squeal” analogies date back to her 2014 Senate race, and she has since launched 10 years of her “Make ‘Em Squeal” awards — many of which mirror DOGE’s concerns about government waste.

Musk and Ramaswamy recently laid out their road map for running the DOGE, noting that they are not government officials and will serve as outside volunteers. They said they will assemble “a lean team of small-government crusaders” to work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The goal is three-pronged: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions, and cost savings.

The DOGE leaders plan to present a list of regulations to Trump they believe are unnecessary. The president-elect would then use his executive power to “pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission.” Shrinking the workforce will be expected, with the men planning to force government employees back into the office five days a week.

Ernst has long criticized federal workers whom she believes are abusing remote work policies. In May, she demanded that the Defense Department use VPN tracking to determine the level of teleworking at its health agency. In 2023, she urged requirements for most civil servants to return to in-person work after the COVID-19 pandemic had mostly subsided.

“The American people gave us a mandate to fix the broken and bloated mess that is Washington,” Ernst said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I am going to be partnering with the Trump administration and DOGE to disrupt the business-as-usual bureaucracy, shake up the federal workforce, and cut through red tape like a hot knife through butter. My report will serve as an instruction manual to drain the swamp, eliminate waste, and get the federal government back on track.”

DOGE Trillion-Dollar Bluepr… by web-producers