Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is a fan of the Department of Government Efficiency. That’s the Trump administration’s effort to downsize the federal government and cut spending.
So, he’s making his own. Cox signed an executive order to create the Government Reform, Innovation & Transparency initiative, or GRIT.
“I'm so excited that it is actually happening,” he said during a May 9 news conference.
“We've been begging for something like DOGE for decades.”
It might appear like Utah is following the federal government’s lead, but Cox said it’s more like putting a name to something that already exists.
“We do DOGE, like, six times a year in this state, every single year,” he said. “We DOGE the hell out of our budget every single year. We were DOGE before DOGE was a thing. We were DOGE when it wasn't cool and we will be DOGE long after it is cool.”
According to Cox, this is an effort to make state government not just more efficient, but more accountable and responsible to the people it serves.
“GRIT is starting with asking the very tough questions about what is actually working, what's wasting time and money and what needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.”
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget will lead the initiative and seek feedback from all corners of Utah and at all levels of government.
“This is really a way to work not only outside-in by getting feedback from all of our citizens, but also inside-out with our state employees and with our Legislature,” said GOPB Executive Director Sophia DiCaro.
Under GRIT, state agencies will be required to submit efficiency improvement projects, participate in a statewide professional learning network, actively use feedback from the public and report on their results.
Many Republican voters share the thought that the government should be more efficient.
An April HarrisX poll for the Deseret News found 72% of Utah Republicans either “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” of DOGE at the federal level. Three Utah Republicans told KUER DOGE was a highlight of the first 100 days of Trump’s second term.
Salt Lake City resident Spencer Roberts said there needs to be a force in government whose job is to push back on bureaucracy growing out of control and “peel back the way government works.”
“From, ‘Hey, this is too complicated. Don't worry your pretty little head about it,’ to, ‘Hey, you're an independent person, and you can look at this and you can decide whether this is a good use of your money,’ he said. “That changes how people vote.”
For San Juan County resident Marjorie Haun-Storland, a state version of DOGE is exactly what she’s been looking for.
“I think every state needs its own DOGE to ensure that the monies that come from taxpayers are treated with respect and used in ways that benefit the people,” she said.
Although Cox has high praise for the mission of DOGE, he is critical of its execution. DOGE’s actions thus far, which included mass firings — and sometimes re-hirings — threw numerous federal agencies into chaos. Those actions have also led to lawsuits that challenge everything from those firings and layoffs to transparency issues. Cox called Utah’s GRIT “the thinking man’s DOGE.”
“One of the concerns I have about DOGE is that there's slashing going on, which we've desperately needed, but unfortunately, they're not looking at outcomes,” he said. “Sometimes you slash something and the thing gets worse, right?”
Cox pledged to publish dashboards where the public can track GRIT’s progress. A lack of transparency has been a chief complaint with DOGE, with just how much money it has saved remaining unclear.
In fact, Cox said some of GRIT’s findings might not lead to cuts at all.
“Sometimes you actually have to add people to get the right outcome, you'll find that that's a piece as well,” he said. “We're not looking at mass layoffs. That's not what this is about at all.”
For DiCaro, if GRIT is to work, she and her staff need the public’s help.
“We want to know how to make things better,” she said, “Here, this is your money, your investment, and you should expect the best from us, and that's what we're prepared to deliver.”
