Republicans are telling the White House that DOGE cuts will not be permanent
The White House is encountering pushback from congressional Republicans as the administration works to enshrine the cuts instituted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency into law.
Congressional Republicans have said in private conversations that it would be a stretch to codify even a small part of the cuts put in place by Musk, according to The Washington Post.
Both the courts and Congress are refusing to legally protect the cuts pushed through by Musk, and the White House has few options to ensure the reductions have a lasting effect.
This comes as several Republicans have faced furious opposition from their constituents during town hall meetings in their districts. Some Republicans have refused to hold such meetings, and others have blamed the opposition from voters on the Democrats.
Last month, Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds attempted to tell his constituents about the benefits of DOGE as he faced shouting and jeers from voters.
“Are you going to allow me to answer the question?” he asked an audience member.
Republicans have faced outrage from voters concerned about possible cuts to programs such as Medicare and Social Security. The chaos at some town halls prompted some lawmakers to move to a phone-in format or avoid holding meetings at all, following advice from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Robert Shea is a Republican who previously worked at the White House budget office.
“None of the activities of the DOGE have heretofore had any impact on the budget, the debt or the deficit. Until Congress acts, those savings don’t really become real,” he told The Post.
Shea and other budget experts told the paper that the administration has to choose between putting in place congressionally approved funding or violating federal budget law, which would lead to a constitutional crisis.
The White House suggested sending a small share of the DOGE cuts for congressional approval — $9.3 billion of cuts, primarily handling the removal of the foreign aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the remains of which have been folded into the State Department. Those cuts would also include cutbacks to funding for public broadcasting.
Musk has so far claimed that DOGE has instituted $160 billion in cuts after claiming during the campaign that he would find $2 trillion in reductions.
However, lawmakers started sharing their apprehensions regarding the smaller package of cuts this week. Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins told colleagues that she would struggle backing cuts to PEPFAR, the program fighting HIV/AIDS abroad.
Speaking about the chances of the package passing in the Senate, where it would only need 51 votes according to a 1974 budget law, Collins said, “I think it depends what’s in it precisely.”
“For example, the $8.3 billion in foreign aid cuts, if that includes the women’s global health initiative as is rumored, if it cuts PEPFAR as it may, I don’t see those passing,” she added, according to The Post.
The 1974 budget law allows for requests for funding to be rescinded to be fast-tracked, meaning that lawmakers wouldn’t have to be concerned about a Democratic filibuster.
The chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, noted that passing the DOGE cuts would be hard even though Republicans are in control of Congress, pointing to their small majorities. He requested that the administration review the package before it’s sent to Congress to make sure the cutbacks have political backing.
“Do you really want to roll out and have a failure?” he asked. “I think if they put it out there, they need to succeed at it.”
The request for cuts of $9 billion was supposed to be the first, with others coming down the line.
“If we can’t pass a $9 billion rescission package, we might as well all pack it up, give in and admit we’re all going to go bankrupt,” Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul said, according to The Post.
“I think it’s tiny because they’re trying to get to the smallest number they can get and get a victory,” he added.
Musk has told reporters that it’s now up to Congress and the Cabinet to take charge as he takes a step back from his DOGE efforts.
“How much pain is the Cabinet and this Congress willing to take?” said Musk. “Because it can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.”
