DOGE Caucus senator introduces two bills to kickstart waste cutting in Trump term [Video]

FIRST ON FOX: One of the founding Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus members, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is leading the introduction of a legislative package targeting government waste related to the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s next term. 

The Oklahoma Republican gave Fox News Digital an exclusive first look at two bills he will introduce Tuesday, one to address cases of unemployment fraud and another to extend the statute of limitations to prosecute COVID-19 recovery fund fraud. 

“Making the government more efficient isn’t a partisan issue—it’s an American issue. Loopholes in the law let fraudsters get away with billions in COVID recovery and Unemployment Insurance payouts while forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. The decades of government waste must come to an end,” Lankford said in a statement.

The first measure would allow states to halt unemployment paymentsto claimants if they are deemed fraudulent, getting rid of a requirement for unemployment agencies to restart payments …