Republicans have plans for major spending cuts next year, but some Republicans question whether Congress can muster the momentum for major changes.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswami, whom President-elect Trump has selected to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory committee on spending and debt reduction, were at the Capitol on Thursday to discuss Congress and national debt reduction. He held a series of meetings with lawmakers about how to proceed. The White House can work together to achieve that goal.
And while that advisory committee is primarily focused on what executive actions President Trump can take, lawmakers acknowledge that significant and lasting change must be achieved through legislation. . And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there.
“The problem is in that room,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), referring to other Republicans who met with Musk and Ramaswamy.
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President Trump announced on November 12, 2024 that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency. (Getty Images)
“They say, you know, very tough things,” but they didn't vote in a way that he believes shows they're serious about cutting spending.
“You don't see that very often. Now, when does it start? Since it's Elon and Vivec, does it start?” [address us]”All I'm worried about is that we'll lose momentum. … We've got to be courageous and people have to hold us accountable.”
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Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop (R.N.C.) told Fox News that during a brainstorming session with the Republican and DOGE duo Thursday afternoon, “many members” came to suggest ways to “save money.” He said he stood up.
“One would think more people would have been motivated to vote on the House floor to do these things sooner,” Bishop added.
The DOGE debate opened up long-standing wounds within the House Republican Party, with House Republicans spending much of the 118th Congress in internal squabbles over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues.
of national debt It recently exceeded $36 trillion.
Rep. Chip Roy questioned whether Republican lawmakers have the “backbone” to pass a spending review. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
A senior House Republican aide expressed optimism about the new goal, but added that Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy are “swinging over the fence.”
“I think the difficult thing is, once we see things that need to be cut, Congress is the one that has to actually make the cuts, right?” the aide said.
“DOGE's mission is valuable and absolutely necessary, but nothing changes. We're not going to cut spending like we did,” said another senior Republican aide. [have to] It's about getting the finances in order, not cutting waste at any significant level. ”
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Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) was also skeptical, telling Republicans at Thursday's meeting that they needed to “straighten up” to move forward with real, meaningful spending cuts.
“I said to my colleagues, 'What would you do if you couldn't print money, literally banned today?' You'd do what you do for your family's budget, you'd say, 'Put braces on your child. I can’t take a vacation here because I have to,’” Roy said. WMAL radio host Larry O'Connor.
“We will never do that, and unless we do, all the DOGE waste reduction around the world will be useless. We have to do both. We need waste reduction. But we need Congress to do that.'' ”
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President-elect Trump has nominated Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE. (Brandon Bell)
Some Republicans are skeptical that Musk and Ramaswamy will take control.
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“They didn't have a game plan. The wish list they're giving Santa and the American people will never be fulfilled in the slightest,” said one Republican lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely, at Thursday's meeting. He told FOX News Digital about this.
The Republican lawmaker called DOGE a “magical department created out of thin air,” and noted that its logo was heavily inspired by the Musk-backed cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin. .
“They are “We're going to run into a brick wall of 'members who know how to do our jobs,'” he said.
