The House Freedom Caucus is pushing for House GOP appropriators to work to lock in cuts pursued by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency as the party begins crafting government funding legislation for fiscal year 2026.
In a letter addressed to Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, members of the hardline conservative caucus pressed for funding negotiators to write bills “consistent” with Trump’s budget request and to “include adjustments initiated by DOGE.”
They also pressed for appropriators to work to “reduce non-defense, non-veterans, discretionary spending to pre-COVID levels.”
“The Appropriations process provides Congress with an opportunity to demonstrate our shared commitment to fighting waste, fraud, and abuse by codifying DOGE cuts and embracing the America First agenda,” the letter, led by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), said Tuesday.
The letter arrives as the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee is set to begin marking up spending legislation for fiscal 2026, with funding work for the departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, as well as military construction and agricultural development on the schedule this week.
At the same time, House GOP leaders also plan to move quickly to act on a package of proposed rescissions that Trump officials released on Tuesday afternoon.
The package – which calls for more than $9 billion in cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, NPR and PBS – is the first of what Republicans hope will be multiple such requests from the president as they work to codify DOGE cuts.
