WASHINGTON—As Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy begin work on their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, Rep. Greg Lopez (R-Colo.) is drawing their attention to government spending on “zombie programs” as areas to cut.
Zombie programs are federal government initiatives that were once authorized by Congress but for which authorization has expired—meaning that they can no longer operate.
“It is our hope that DOGE exposes the zombie programs to the American people and to the Trump Administration so that Congressmen of every party may be forced to change their ways,” wrote Lopez. “The only way that happens is through rigorous scrutiny by DOGE [and] pressure by the Trump Administration.”
Lopez’s letter highlights several allegedly unauthorized programs that received money appropriated by Congress in recent years. These included the Clean School Bus Program to incentivize zero-emission school buses, the Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative to reduce fossil fuel consumption by federal buildings, as well as various grant programs by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Health and Human Services.
“This is totally nuts,” he wrote on X. “We can & should save hundreds of billions each year by defunding government programs that Congress no longer authorizes. We’ll challenge any politician who disagrees to defend the other side.”
DOGE will not be an official government agency in the incoming Trump administration and appears to currently comprise only Musk and Ramaswamy, who will make recommendations to achieve government efficiency. Neither will DOGE, nor any executive branch agency, have the power to change the allocation of funds to agencies. Only Congress can rescind or redirect government funds drawn from the Treasury, which Lopez acknowledges, writing, “This spending is a result of Congress blatantly shirking their main oversight responsibility: fiscal accountability.”
Formally, the rules of the House of Representatives require that programs can only be funded through legislation if they are previously authorized by separate legislation. Hence, Congress has passed several authorizing bills—the annual National Defense Authorization Act and, recently, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act—that grant programs lawful authority to operate, which are then funded through appropriations bills passed later.
“We need to demand that every program receiving taxpayer dollars is regularly reviewed and reauthorized, ending the zombie programs that continue year after year,” Lopez wrote.
Lopez entered Congress in July after winning a by-election to succeed Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and is a member of the House Budget Committee. In the 119th Congress, he will be replaced by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who switched from the 3rd District to run in the 4th District and won the general election in November.
DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted via X.
