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by WILL FOLKS
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There are reformers – and then there’s Rom Reddy. The founder of the pro-citizen DOGE SC movement, Reddy – an Isle of Palms businessman – has been setting the proverbial woods on fire since launching his movement in earnest last summer.
The breadth, depth and cohesion of Reddy’s organization has distinguished it from typical “reform” efforts in South Carolina – positioning the movement as a potential change agent ahead of the 2026 session of the S.C. General Assembly.
And beyond…
Many (if not most) reform-minded groups in the Palmetto State are flashes in the pan, long on rhetoric but short on ideas… and totally nonexistent in terms of results. These entities talk a big game, but rarely deliver – usually due to lack of substance, resources or political acumen (or the lack of all three of those things).
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Other groups, often christened with cookie cutter names like “South Carolinians for Permissible Navel-Gazing” or the “Palmetto Regurgitation Association,” exist solely to advocate for specific causes. They aren’t genuinely interested in reform, though, they are special interest plants – seeking to co-opt broader populist movements for their own narrow purposes.
Reddy’s group continues to differentiate itself, however. We’ve previously covered its expansive policy launches (here and here) but this week, DOGE SC launched its first agency regulatory review. As Reddy noted in an opinion piece published on this media outlet, DOGE SC reviewed the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) – determining that 10.8% of the rules the agency enforces lack clear legal authority.
Meanwhile, 58.1% of SCDSS rules were technically authorized but, according to DOGE SC’s report (.pdf) were “never debated or passed by the Legislature, meaning unelected bureaucrats are effectively writing law under vague statutory permission.”
Reddy referred to this as “government by permission slip.”
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Only 31.1% of SCDSS rules were “explicitly mandated” by lawmakers, according to the DOGE SC report.
“That is how an unelected agency state replaces representative government without anyone ever voting for it,” Reddy wrote in his guest column. “This is how separation of powers quietly collapses.”
An agency spokesperson said SCDSS was in the process of reviewing the report but declined to comment further.
Using “proprietary artificial intelligence analysis,” DOGE SC analyzed 136 DSS regulations containing 2,620 individual provisions. Each provision was classified based on whether it was explicitly mandated by the General Assembly, merely authorized without a legislative vote, or entirely unauthorized under South Carolina law.
A similar report on the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is forthcoming, which we are told has prompted considerable rectal puckering in that agency.
Good…
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As I’ve previously noted, Reddy’s use of artificial intelligence in pursuit of better outcomes for Palmetto State citizens and taxpayers is “truly groundbreaking” – and a key component of the “next-level accountability” his movement is seeking to bring to bear on state government. Frankly, it’s exactly the sort of thing a governor should be doing (seeing as SCDSS is part of governor Henry McMaster‘s cabinet).
And assuming a governor won’t do it for whatever reason, it’s precisely the sort of oversight state lawmakers should be conducting on these agencies… although we saw last year what “oversight” means to them.
One state lawmaker was thrilled to see the work being put in, though.
“Unelected bureaucrats are making laws about children – about whether government can take a child,” state senator Wes Climer told FITSNews. “They make horrible decisions based on policy made unilaterally.”
Climer went on to say SCDSS policy is “the reason why the foster care system in South Carolina is so broken,” accusing the agency of being “mean, vindictive and petty” to foster families.
Obviously, Reddy’s group isn’t 100% aligned with all of the positions articulated by our media outlet (we diverged with DOGE SC recently on the issue of casino gaming, for example). But whether we agree with this new movement on everything or not, there is no denying the force it has quickly become in South Carolina politics.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track DOGE SC’s ongoing reform push. It sounds like this is just the beginning of its efforts to provide the more muscular accountability the Palmetto State so desperately needs…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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7 comments
Love how this “reform movement with some teeth” is named after something that accomplished nothing except making the government function even worse, and causing incalculable suffering and death.
Im OK supporting Rom, because whatever else choice is there. But his association (paying) you makes me rethink even that
How much did this handjob cost Rum?
More important than whether the regulations are authorized by statutes is whether the statutes themselves are scientific.
Statutes are not an end in themselves; but means to an end.
Just because a statute is enacted by a duly-elected body does not mean that it will achieve what it is meant to achieve, even if applied the way the legislature intended.
Is there a constitutional basis for expecting statutes to be scientific? Yes; but it is more explained in the Declaration of Independence: the right to the pursuit of happiness.
Simplifying it, a parent whose child lives is inarguably happier than a parent whose child dies in a car accident.
The question then becomes: do speed limits reduce car accidents?
If they do, then the statute setting speed limits is constitutional and fulfilling the government’s end of its social contract with the governed.
If they do not, then the statute is unconstitutional as controlling people’s lives without achieving the happiness the government exists to facilitate.
What tells us if speed limits do or do not reduce car accidents? Science. Science of dynamics of moving objects. Statistical sciences, etc.
Good night and God bless.
ANY new way of looking at government at every level should and must be given a shot. Because the “same ole same ole” way of governing has no record of success other than keeping many corrupticrats (whether elected or hired) in power.
Federal DOGE is already dust in the wind and actually cost America more money. Expect SC DOGE to do the same.
I predict state or federal indictments (or both!) for Rom by the end of the year. I am paying 6:1 for CSAM, 4:1 for drugs/prostitutes, 3:1 for tax evasion and 2:1 for environmental liability. Fools names and fools faces are often seen in public places.