Ciattarelli wants a DOGE-style commission to crack down on New Jersey Medicaid recipients

Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, is calling for a DOGE-style audit of state government, even though he previously criticized a similar proposal.

President Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to make budget cuts to federal agencies. Ciattarelli has consistently praised the department’s work, even as its aggressive tactics have led to thousands of job losses and the disruption of key services, including Social Security.

One of DOGE’s goals is to generate revenue to fund tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest Americans.

“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,” Ciattarelli said in a January social media post. “In doing so, we’ll empower the Comptroller to weed out all fraud in government by way of audits and investigations.”

A month later, Ciattarelli announced that NJDOGE would be a part of the State Commission of Investigations (SCI), empowering it to hold public hearings, subpoena witnesses, and issue detailed reports with budget recommendations.

Ciattarelli said in a March 4 radio interview that NJDOGE would specifically target alleged waste and fraud in Medicaid.

“The single greatest expense line in our state budget with the federal match is Medicaid,” Ciattarelli said. “It’s close to $20 billion … And so I think the right thing to do is get into the data and find out where it is that people are gaming the system and people are receiving services who are not entitled to services … We’ll have our own DOGE.”

Since 1997, the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have compiled an annual report investigating Medicaid fraud. These reports consistently found that the bulk of fraud is committed by health care providers and contractors, not beneficiaries.

About 1.9 million New Jerseyans rely on Medicaid for health insurance.

Ciattarelli was in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2017 and 2021.

During the 2017 Republican primary, Ciattarelli said that Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno’s plan to pay for new tax cuts with a state audit would only yield “false savings and phantom revenues.”

“It’s irresponsible and I’ll even go far enough to say in some senses it’s a lie,” Ciattarelli said of Guadagno’s plan. He estimated a state audit would yield only a quarter of a billion dollars, not enough to fund tax breaks or generate lasting revenue.

The Republican primary for the 2025 governor race is scheduled for June 10. A Ciattarelli campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.