Marjorie Taylor Greene will lead new panel on government efficiency

WASHINGTON – When she arrived in Congress in 2021, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was quickly stripped of her two committee assignments by Democrats and shunned by her colleagues on Capitol Hill.

Almost three years later, Greene is poised to hold a gavel for the first time, a sign of the ascendancy of the MAGA wing of the GOP in Congress, where President-elect Donald Trump’s most loyal allies will occupy prominent posts next year.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, is planning to create a new subcommittee to partner with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to “eliminate government waste.” The committee, which has yet to be created, will work with the new Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, and leading Republicans have agreed to allow Greene to serve as its chair.

Republicans said the committee would be charged with investigating waste and corruption within the federal government.

Even though she is not yet the chair of a committee that does not yet exist, Greene’s new position appeared to be a done deal, with top Republicans confirming it would be hers to lead when the new Congress convenes in January.

“I’m excited to chair this new subcommittee designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and the entire DOGE team,” Greene said in a statement Thursday. “We will identify and investigate the waste, corruption and absolutely useless parts of our federal government.”

Ramaswamy confirmed the plans in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform, writing that he was “looking forward” to working with Greene and Congress. “Proper oversight of agencies & public transparency are critical,” he said.

Leading a panel alongside a federal agency whose name invokes an internet meme – the original “doge” was a Shiba Inu whose image spread widely and who inspired a cryptocurrency that Musk endorsed – seemed to be a fitting job for Greene, a native on right-wing social media.

Over the past year, Greene has distinguished herself as one of the showiest members on the House Oversight Committee, the main investigative organ of the House.

Last year, during a hearing with whistleblowers from the IRS, she showed sexually explicit images of Hunter Biden, the president’s son. “Parental discretion advised,” she said before unveiling her poster boards and drawing immediate condemnation from Democrats for her stunt.

In her statement Thursday, she hinted that the same no-holds-barred style would guide her work on the new subcommittee. “No topic will be off the table,” she said.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, mocked the creation of the panel.

“So now a noted student of American government, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, will chair a subcommittee to work with two unvetted billionaires who stand to receive billions more in government contracts and subsidies from the government under Trump,” Raskin said.

Echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s signature use of caps lock, Greene added: “Our subcommittee’s work will expose people who need to be FIRED.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.