Republicans skeptical of major gains on Trump orders in shutdown fight

Some Republicans are looking to the next fiscal year to try to codify President Trump's orders to cut federal spending as a divided Congress barrels toward a shutdown deadline.

Trump voiced optimism this week that cuts pursued by his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed up by tech billionaire Elon Musk, would "get a very easy vote" in the GOP-led Congress, if it comes to it, as his sweeping orders get tangled up in the courts.

But while conservatives are pushing for the cuts to be included, there is skepticism among Republicans that they'll be able to get it done as part of a broader funding deal they plan to strike by March 14 — when they'll need Democratic support to prevent the government from shutting down.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who heads the committee that oversees annual funding for the departments of Education and Health and Human Services, said last week that she thinks the orders would more likely have an impact on fiscal 2026 funding bills than spending legislation for the current year.

"I would see it more forward-looking," Capito said when asked how Trump's recent orders are impacting current funding talks. "I just think that means we need to keep the spending and the expenditures in line with what this administration wants to do, much like they kept the spending in line with what Biden wants to do, which was a lot of green, a lot of DEI, a lot of all that."

Capito, a member of GOP leadership, added, "So, I don't see this as any different as keeping it in line with what this administration has said is high priority."

"We're not trying to cram any of the president's agenda down their throat in an appropriations bill," House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters Wednesday when asked if a government funding deal would incorporate Trump's orders.

"We're just trying to reach common ground, but it does have to be something that a Republican Senate majority would accept, Republican House majority would accept and a Republican president would sign."

Trump has rolled out a batch of executive orders aimed at shrinking the government and curbing federal spending. Democrats have seized on the orders, which include measures aimed at freezing funds for climate and infrastructure laws championed by former President Biden, along with efforts seeking to dismantle offices such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the United States Agency for International Development.

And Republicans are pointing to Democrats' vows to do everything they can to stymie the efforts.

"Do you think Democrats would vote for them?" Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a staunch conservative, said when asked about the chances that Republicans could codify any of Trump's recent orders as both sides work to find a deal to avert a shutdown next month.

"Anything we're going to be able to do would probably have to be done through reconciliation."

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a spending cardinal, said it's "very important" that Republicans work to codify Trump's orders, but added that "to negotiate, you have to have two willing parties."

"And I think — after talking with many of my Democratic colleagues, I think they're going to choose to shut down the government," he argued.

Democrats have made clear they don't want to shut down the government, but they see the upcoming deadline as critical leverage to counter a sweeping cost-cutting operation undertaken by Trump Musk.

Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats were already looking at "undoing lots of the many things that they've done that are wrong" in the government funding legislation.

"Everyone knows there's waste in government that should be cut, but DOGE is using a meat axe, and they're cutting things that are efficient and effective," he said.

Lawmakers have also already begun to acknowledge that a stopgap, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), is likely necessary to keep the government open next week, as both sides have struggled to strike an agreement on a top-line to set how much Congress will agree to fund the government for fiscal 2025.

Congressional negotiators on both sides have said this week that discussions remain ongoing as lawmakers look to find common ground. But appetite is increasing among some Republicans around a stopgap that runs through the end of the fiscal year, or late September, as lawmakers are almost six months behind schedule.

"I think everybody's concern and emphasis is just getting the CR done," Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), another spending cardinal, said this week. "That's going to be hard enough without putting a bunch of other stuff hanging onto it."

As Republicans explore their options in helping codify some of Trump's orders, some in the party have raised the prospect of using a special maneuver known as budget reconciliation to bypass Democratic opposition in advancing Trump's priorities.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday that he thinks some of Trump's executive orders could be codified using the restrictive procedure so they can't be held up in court.

"I think that some do, and if they are eligible for and can be included in budget reconciliation, we will make every attempt to do that," he said, saying it could be "helpful, frankly, to have it codified so you have something — it's durable and doesn't change from change from one administration to the next."

"We'll be taking a good, hard look at that and to determine where and when, if possible, we can get some of these things codified and put into statute," he said.