Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) sent a letter on Monday to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with suggestions on how to reduce government spending by over $2 trillion.

The letter was sent after President-elect Donald Trump appointed Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, to co-chair the new initiative aimed at streamlining government operations.

In her seven-page letter, Ernst highlighted areas where she believes the government can significantly cut waste.

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Her proposals include eliminating unnecessary office space, addressing unspent COVID relief funds, and revisiting high-cost federal programs.

Ernst’s proposals come as part of her ongoing focus on eliminating government waste since her election to the U.S. Senate in 2014.

Ernst pointed to a number of specific examples she believes could be eliminated or reduced, including three high-cost rail projects in California totaling over $135 billion, $213 million in unemployment payments made to millionaires, $31 million paid to government employees who have no assigned duties, and $10 billion in inaccurate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments.

Billion dollar boondoggles, tele-“working” bureaucrats, and vacant buildings.

Let’s stop this waste! @doge @elonmusk @vivekgramaswamy pic.twitter.com/GDXmOBGGkL

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) November 24, 2024

Additionally, Ernst raised concerns over the over $1.6 trillion in uncommitted COVID relief funding that remains unspent.

Ernst emphasized that her focus is not on politics but on fiscal responsibility.

In the letter, she referenced what she sees as the reluctance of Congress to make meaningful cuts to government spending. “When faced with proposals to trim the fat from Washington’s budget, members of Congress from both parties act like Goldilocks,” she wrote.

“It’s too little or too big, always too hard, and never just right. But the real ‘make-believe’ of this fairy tale is that it’s impossible to reduce Washington’s budget without causing pain. Most Americans aren’t even benefitting in any meaningful way from hundreds of billions of dollars being wasted.”

Ernst further stated that much of the waste could be easily identified with just a little common sense. “If you can’t find waste in Washington, there can only be one reason: you didn’t look,” she wrote.

On Friday, Ernst also announced that she would lead a Senate caucus focused on government efficiency, working alongside Musk and Ramaswamy to identify and eliminate waste.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was named as the chair of a House Oversight subpanel titled the “Delivering on Government Efficiency” panel.

Ernst’s push to reduce government waste is part of her long-standing mission to hold bureaucrats accountable. “I have a simple message to the bureaucrats who haven’t shown up for work in years and the government contractors and grantees collecting millions to study how fast a shrimp runs on a treadmill – buckle up because accountability is coming,” Ernst said in a statement. “My decade-long mission to make Washington squeal has created an exhaustive list of more than $2 trillion worth of waste, fraud, and abuse that I will work with DOGE to cut. We are going to break down the nonsense that has taken over Washington and put in its place a government that actually works for the people.”

Ernst has also previously raised concerns over improper payments and waste in government programs.

She questioned the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after an employee received “locality pay” for the Washington, D.C. area while living in Florida.

Additionally, she requested a staff briefing after a second instance of improper locality pay was reported with another USAID employee living in North Carolina.

Ernst’s concerns over remote work were also raised in an August 2023 letter to 24 government agencies.

She cited reports of a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee attending a staff meeting while taking a bubble bath.

Ernst also urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action to address contaminants in drinking water in federal buildings left unoccupied due to the shift to remote work.

In September 2023, Ernst introduced the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act, a piece of legislation aimed at curbing inefficiency in federal agencies by addressing the issues caused by widespread telecommuting.

Ernst concluded her letter to Musk and Ramaswamy by noting that her list of recommended cuts is not exhaustive and that she would provide additional suggestions in the future. “This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I will be providing many more recommendations soon,” she wrote. “My team and I are ready to help you make some prime cuts.”