Multiple Republican lawmakers are voicing concerns about backing a high-profile measure later this week to codify Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts – raising questions about whether it can pass the House at all.
Two Republicans – Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Nicole Malliotakis of New York – separately told CNN they have concerns with the White House’s push to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“Still mulling,” Amodei said when asked if he would support the package of cuts. “The impact on local PBS stations appears to be significant.”
Other Republicans have heartburn about how it could cut the Bush-era program, PEPFAR, devoted to fighting HIV and AIDS globally.
“If it cuts PEPFAR like they’re saying it is, that’s not good,” GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN last week.
House GOP leaders plan to put the package of cuts, totaling $9.4 billion, on the floor as soon as Thursday, according to two people familiar with the plans.
But Speaker Mike Johnson will need near unanimity in his conference for the package to pass the House, where he can only lose three votes.
Johnson said on Monday that he’s “working on” getting enough votes for the Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts package he hopes to bring to the floor this week.
“The only concern I heard initially was some wanted a little more specificity and detail on what was in the package,” Johnson continued.
Asked how he would persuade members that wanted more specificity in the package, Johnson replied, “I’m gathering up all their questions and we’ll try to get them all answered. I mean, that’s what we do in every piece of legislation.”
If it can survive the House, it will face major obstacles in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told CNN on Monday that she has major misgivings about the global health cuts, including PEPFAR.
“I think we can change it. We’re still figuring out what the set rules are,” Collins said.
The White House sent its long-awaited spending cuts request to Congress as it seeks to formalize a slew of DOGE slashes to federal funding.
The $9.4 billion package – known as “rescissions” on Capitol Hill – would claw back previously appropriated government funding. The move to cancel the funding through Congress would insulate the administration from legal challenges related to its cuts to federal funding.
Johnson said on Monday, “We’d like to do multiple rescissions packages, and this first one I’m sure will be successful.”
This initial request, however, is far more limited in scope than the more than $1 trillion in spending cuts that DOGE has promised. The lengthy time it took the White House to send over a first round of cuts underscores the uphill battle for even a Republican-led Congress to codify DOGE’s work.
CNN’s Molly English contributed to this report.
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