New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Proposes Audit Modeled After Federal Department
Republican candidate for New Jersey governor, Jack Ciattarelli, has proposed a sweeping audit of the state government, inspired by the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) established under President Donald Trump. This proposal marks a shift for Ciattarelli, who previously criticized similar initiatives.
The DOGE was created to make budgetary reductions across federal agencies, a move that has garnered both praise and criticism due to job cuts and service disruptions, notably in the Social Security sector. Despite the controversy, one of DOGE’s objectives is to secure funds for tax cuts aimed at benefiting the wealthiest citizens, a strategy Ciattarelli seems keen to replicate at the state level.
In January, Ciattarelli stated in a social media post, “When I’m Governor, the Office of the State Comptroller will be renamed the New Jersey Department of Government Efficiency (NJDOGE) and the Comptroller will be elevated to a cabinet-level position.” He intends to empower this office to identify and eliminate fraud through comprehensive audits and investigations.
Ciattarelli later added that NJDOGE would function as part of the State Commission of Investigations (SCI), granting it the authority to conduct public hearings, subpoena witnesses, and produce detailed reports with fiscal recommendations.
During a radio interview on March 4, Ciattarelli highlighted Medicaid as a specific target for waste and fraud investigations. He noted, “The single greatest expense line in our state budget with the federal match is Medicaid. It’s close to $20 billion … We’ll have our own DOGE.”
Federal reports since 1997 by the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services have routinely identified healthcare providers and contractors as the primary sources of Medicaid fraud, rather than beneficiaries. Nonetheless, approximately 1.9 million New Jersey residents depend on Medicaid for health insurance.
Ciattarelli, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018 and ran for governor in 2017 and 2021, has historically been skeptical of similar state audits. In the 2017 Republican primary, he dismissed Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno’s audit-based tax cut proposal as promising “false savings and phantom revenues,” estimating it would generate only $250 million, insufficient for meaningful tax reductions.
The upcoming Republican primary for the 2025 governor race is scheduled for June 10. The Ciattarelli campaign has yet to comment on the latest proposal.
For more information, see the full article on American Journal News.
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