There’s something deeply satisfying about watching someone finally untangle a knot that others insisted couldn’t be undone. For years, we’ve been told that government waste is just the cost of doing business—an inevitable byproduct of bureaucracy that taxpayers must accept with a weary shrug. But every so often, someone comes along who refuses to accept the premise.
When Elon Musk’s federal Department of Government Efficiency began making waves, it sent a clear message: the bloat wasn’t untouchable. Common sense could return to government. Though the federal DOGE has since largely disbanded, its spirit didn’t die—it migrated. Red states across the country started asking an obvious question: if Washington could find billions in waste, what’s hiding in our own backyards?
Meanwhile, blue states remain mired in fiscal chaos, fraud scandals, and the kind of bureaucratic inertia that makes you wonder if anyone’s minding the store. But in the states where conservative governance actually means something? The results speak for themselves.
Louisiana Shows How It’s Done
Enter Louisiana, where Republican Governor Jeff Landry established “LA DOGE” in December 2024. The results are now in, and I don’t know about you, but they made me want to stand up and applaud: $999.5 million in annual savings—without a single reduction in services.
From Angele Davis, LA DOGE team member and former Commissioner of Administration:
“If you are deceased, incarcerated, no longer eligible for Medicaid, no longer live in the state—you should not be on the Medicaid rolls.”
Let that sink in. Dead people were collecting Medicaid. Prisoners were on the rolls. People who’d moved out of state years ago were still draining Louisiana’s coffers. And the fixes weren’t some complex algorithmic overhaul—they were cross-checking IDs, verifying residency through motor vehicle records, basic eligibility reviews. These are things any competent household does before paying a bill. Yet government couldn’t be bothered until someone demanded accountability.
The restructuring also improved services. The Department of Children and Family Services reduced caseloads by 17 percent by putting staff back on the front lines, leading to more meaningful engagement with families and better decisions for children.
The savings breakdown tells the story: $285.5 million from Medicaid eligibility alone, another $206.4 million from renegotiating bloated contracts, and $407.6 million from simple workforce efficiency improvements. Governor Landry compared it to families canceling unused subscriptions when times get tight—except government never felt the pinch because, well, it wasn’t their money.
A Template for the Nation
What makes Louisiana’s success particularly encouraging is who led the charge. Steve Orlando wasn’t a career bureaucrat who’d spent decades defending the status quo. He was an oil and gas executive who’d never worked in government. Fresh eyes saw what institutional blindness had missed for years. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
Landry’s advice to fellow governors cuts right to the heart of it: “Just go out and challenge your cabinet members to reach into the bureaucracy and take a look at where the spending is occurring.”
That’s it. No magic formula. No billion-dollar consulting contracts. Just leadership willing to ask uncomfortable questions and demand real answers.
So here we are. Louisiana proved that conservative governance isn’t just about ideology—it’s about results. Nearly a billion dollars saved. Services improved. Caseloads reduced. The knot untangled.
Sometimes common sense is contagious. It just needs someone brave enough to grab the rope and start pulling.
Key Takeaways
- Louisiana’s LA DOGE saved taxpayers $999.5 million annually without reducing services.
- Basic fraud prevention—like removing deceased and incarcerated individuals from Medicaid—had been ignored for years.
- A private-sector executive with fresh eyes accomplished what career bureaucrats wouldn’t.
- Red states are proving that conservative governance delivers real, measurable results.
