Over 30 House Republicans voted Friday against a bill to avert a partial government shutdown.
Lawmakers scrambled to reach consensus on a spending package ahead of the looming partial government shutdown deadline Friday. An initial 1,547-page bipartisan deal that would have extended the government funding deadline until March 14 was released Tuesday night, but the proposal crumbled after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy criticized the spending bill.
A more condensed, Trump-backed version was brought to the floor Thursday night but failed to pass.
In a last-minute vote Friday, the House succeeded in passing a funding bill with 34 Republicans voting against the legislation and zero Democrats voting against it. One Democrat, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, voted present.
Among those who voted against the bill was Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who told Fox News Digital, "I don't know why we're giving Joe Biden $100 billion to play with in 30 days.
"Oddly enough, it didn't have what Trump wanted most of all."
GOP lawmakers indicated that the House could vote on another CR proposal Friday to avert the looming partial government shutdown, but the timing still remains unclear.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaking to reporters outside Speaker Mike Johnson's office, said that lawmakers are "very close to a deal" and suggested that a vote could be held that morning.
"I do not believe the government is going to be shutting down. You guys will see some great stuff, very similar to President Trump's plan yesterday," the congresswoman said.
Luna added that "there will be no deals with the Democrats."
"I don't have any reason to believe there will be a vote at 10 o'clock," Johnson said. "I know some people would like to get something on the floor this morning."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, leaving a Democratic caucus meeting on Friday, also told reporters that Democrats had no update on the timing for a potential vote.
Democratic members told reporters that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was in talks with Johnson to try and reach a deal ahead of the partial government shutdown deadline, but suggested that the GOP put the original bipartisan deal on the floor.
House Republican negotiators have tentatively reached an agreement on averting a partial government shutdown at the end of Friday, sources told Fox News Digital.
Two people familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital late Frisy morning that House Republican negotiators had tentatively reached an agreement that would include a short-term extension of this year's federal funding levels, disaster aid funding, and agricultural support for farmers – but under three separate bills.
The speaker originally put forward a 1,547-page bipartisan deal that would have extended the government funding deadline until March 14, but the proposal crumbled after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy criticized the spending bill.
A new proposal, backed by Trump, was hastily negotiated on Thursday, but failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday night.
The bill needed two-thirds of the House chamber to pass, but failed to even net a majority, with two Democrats voting with the majority of Republicans to pass the bill, and 38 GOP lawmakers against.
The national debt has climbed to over $36 trillion, and the national deficit is over $1.8 trillion.
The House is planning to vote on another CR proposal Friday morning to avert the looming partial government shutdown, a GOP lawmaker told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaking to reporters outside Speaker Mike Johnson's office, said lawmakers are "very close to a deal" and that a vote could be held at 10 a.m. Friday.
"I do not believe the government is going to be shutting down. You guys will see some great stuff, very similar to President Trump's plan yesterday," the congresswoman said.
Luna also added that "there will be no deals with the Democrats."
Legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown that was backed by Trump failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday night. The bill needed two-thirds of the House chamber to pass but failed to even net a majority, with two Democrats voting with the majority of Republicans to pass the bill and 38 GOP lawmakers against.
The Biden administration announced another $4.28 billion in student loan handouts as President Biden and Vice President Harris prepare to leave the White House.
The massive loan handout will give 54,900 public workers loan forgiveness.
"Four years ago, the Biden-Harris Administration made a pledge to America’s teachers, service members, nurses, first responders, and other public servants that we would fix the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and I’m proud to say that we delivered," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a release on Friday.
The action brings the total loan forgiveness approved by Biden to nearly $180 billion for nearly 5 million borrowers.
"With the approval of another $4.28 billion in loan forgiveness for nearly 55,000 public servants, the Administration has secured nearly $180 billion in life-changing student debt relief for nearly five million borrowers," Cardona said. "The U.S. Department of Education’s successful transformation of the PSLF Program is a testament to what’s possible when you have leaders, like President Biden and Vice President Harris, who are relentlessly and unapologetically focused on making government deliver for everyday working people."
The Biden-Harris administration touted the program for creating an "incentive" for public servants to "pursue and remain" in their careers by forgiving borrowers' remaining balance after they made the 120 qualifying monthly payments.
"The relief announced today includes both borrowers who have benefitted from the Administration’s limited PSLF waiver, a temporary opportunity that ended in October 2022, as well as from regulatory improvements made to the program during this Administration," the release said.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden pledged to forgive student loans for millions of Americans if elected, but the president has faced continuous legal roadblocks in his attempt to eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in debt.
After the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's first attempt at providing broad-based student loan forgiveness, ruling it was an overreach of the executive branch's authority under the Constitution, the president and his team began to work on other options to provide handouts.
President-elect Trump has not said specifically how he will approach the Biden administration's student loan handout plans, but he has said he plans to rework the entire education system during his term.
Fox News Digital's Audrie Spady contributed to this report.
When the federal government shuts its doors, Americans get a glimpse at a long-debated question in Washington: How much government is too much? Here's what happens during a partial government shutdown, which typically happens when Congress has failed to pass new bills authorizing spending.
Federal agencies and services deemed "nonessential" can expect to halt their operations, while "essential" services continue to function. Examples of "essential" agencies include national security, Border Patrol, law enforcement, disaster response and more.
What's more, funding for certain programs, like Social Security, and some agencies such as the Postal Service, operate separately from the yearly appropriations process.
A shutdown lasting less than two weeks would likely have minimal impact, as federal employees would still receive their paychecks on schedule. Longer shutdowns, meanwhile, are usually accompanied by retroactive pay for government workers and congressional staff. As a result, the actual effects of a shutdown tend to be far less severe than how it's typically described.
Partial government shutdowns can also be seen as an opportunity by some lawmakers to address unsustainable federal spending. The U.S. national debt exceeds $35 trillion, and many argue that allowing the government to function indefinitely without addressing wasteful spending is irresponsible. Shutdowns can thus force Congress to make decisions about funding priorities and eliminate bloated programs.
The federal government’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, requiring Congress to pass a set of appropriations bills by the end of September to fund operations. If Congress fails to act, legal safeguards prevent executive agencies from spending money without legislative approval, effectively limiting government functions.
The annual congressional budget process begins in early February, when the president submits a budget proposal to Congress, offering recommendations for federal spending across all areas of government.
By mid-April, Congress is expected to adopt a budget resolution that establishes overall spending limits and guidelines. Throughout late spring and summer, House and Senate Appropriations Committees work on drafting 12 bills to allocate funding for specific federal agencies and programs. These bills must be passed by Congress by Sept. 30 to prevent a partial government shutdown.
The deadline to pass a continuing resolution (CR), which is a temporary funding patch, is 11:59:59 pm ET on Friday. Without one, the federal government enters a partial shutdown on Saturday, Dec. 21.
Congressional leadership unveiled legislation Wednesday to punt the government funding deadline down the road, but that bill was pronounced dead only hours after it was revealed.
It led to the intervention of Trump-allied conservatives like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, with Musk threatening to support a primary challenge to any Republican member of Congress who voted for the bill.
It even prompted President-elect Trump to say he is "totally against" the legislation and insist any spending deal raise the debt ceiling before he gets into office, saving his administration the headache of doing so.
The continuing resolution, or CR, was meant to kick the government funding deadline down the road by continuing spending at 2024 levels until March and buy more time for Congress to hash out a longer-term budget plan for fiscal year 2025. But it included 1,500 pages worth of policy and funding riders.
With a national debt of $36 trillion and a deficit of $1.8 trillion, conservatives are leery of CRs that don't cut government spending to begin with, but they've argued only a "clean" CR without any riders attached could earn their vote. Others — Democrats and some Republicans — wanted policy and funding riders attached to get something done beyond the status quo.
Here’s a look at all the provisions that prompted Musk and Ramaswamy to step in and insist Republicans kill the CR:
A nearly 4% pay raise would line the pockets of lawmakers if the legislation were to pass: $6,600 extra per year on top of their $174,000 salary.
That salary hasn’t been increased since 2009, but Congress created a program in 2022 allowing members of Congress to expense their food and lodging in Washington, D.C., while conducting official business.
Some members have been pushing for a pay raise for years, arguing that if members aren’t paid more it means that only independently wealthy people will run for Congress. Others are worried about the optics of a pay raise with voters.
Still, others just don’t think lawmakers deserve it.
"The worst part of the CR was the pay raise for members. That money should be earned and right now it is just being taken," said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., on X.
The legislation also includes a provision stipulating that members of Congress do not have to participate in the health care system they wrote into law — the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
It would allow members to opt out of the program and instead participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The lawmaker mandate was a contentious debate during the passage of ObamaCare in 2009 and 2010, and for years Republicans tried to overturn the health care bill entirely.
While the CR would exempt members from having to buy health care on the ObamaCare exchange, it would still require their staff to participate in it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., whose job has come under renewed threat due to anger over the CR, has said he started with a "clean" CR plan but needed to add disaster relief for victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the southeastern part of the country.
Some $100 billion for disaster relief was included, but some conservatives argue it should be paid for by cutting funding in other areas.
The CR includes $8 billion for rebuilding the Baltimore area bridge, which collapsed earlier this year. Some conservatives don’t believe the federal government should be on the hook entirely for the bridge.
"Guess what, folks? Even though the Francis Scott Key Bridge is privately owned, insured, and collects tolls, you still have the honor of footing 100% of the bill to have it repaired. Oh, and it will continue to collect tolls once it’s fixed," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., wrote on X.
The plan would allow year-round sales of gasoline with ethanol up to 15%, a major win for the corn and ethanol lobbies. Currently, sales of E15 are blocked from June through September due to the high level of emissions it produces.
Opposition to the E15 mandate is seemingly a more regional debate than ideological — Southern Republicans from oil-producing states want to protect pure gasoline. Agricultural states want to protect farmers and their subsidies.
A State Department agency that Republicans accuse of adding Americans and news outlets to a blacklist for things like speculating the COVID-19 virus was a Chinese-engineered bioweapon would get a reauthorization under the bill.
Musk previously described the Global Engagement Center (GEC) as being the "worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation."
"They are a threat to our democracy," Musk wrote in a subsequent post.
Although the bill doesn’t specify its budget allocation, a previous Inspector General report showed the agency’s FY 2020 budget totaled $74.26 million, of which $60 million was appropriated by Congress.
The legislation reauthorizes the farm bill for a year, offering $21 billion in disaster relief to farmers and another $10 billion in economic aid. Most conservatives say they aren't necessarily against this, but think it should get a standalone vote and not be attached to the CR.
Other seemingly unrelated riders are sprinkled throughout, such as a bill to establish data collection and reporting requirements concerning composting and recycling programs, and a bill related to transparency of hotel fees.
House Democrats on Thursday fumed over the spending bill drama and what they characterized as the outsize influence of Elon Musk and others in President-elect Trump’s orbit, after a bipartisan plan brokered by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., collapsed just hours earlier.
Speaking to reporters outside a leadership meeting on Thursday, House Democrats expressed disappointment in Republicans for walking away from the negotiated argument, and many accused them of appearing to take cues from Musk.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., labeled the billionaire X owner "President Musk" while speaking to reporters Thursday.
"For the Republicans, for President Musk to come in at the last moment and blow up the deal is just intolerable," Nadler said. "You have to negotiate, and you have to be able to enforce what you're negotiating, and what was negotiated was a very good deal for the American people."
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said their caucus is "disappointed" in House Speaker Johnson, saying it appeared as though Musk is "president" and Trump "vice president."
This was echoed by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas. "My main question is just if Elon Musk is kind of cosplaying co-president here, I don't know why Trump doesn't just hand him the Oval Office."
"Speaker Johnson should maybe just hand Elon Musk the gavel if they just want that billionaire to run the country," Casar told reporters outside a House Democrat leadership meeting.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., was emotional as she expressed her frustration with the protracted negotiation and a changed debt ceiling agreement, saying that in her view, Republicans "need to do the right thing for once."
She noted that she has "thousands of neighbors" and others in her district who are waiting for disaster aid or for a Small Business Administration loan. "Those are the loans that help people repair their homes. Those are the loans that help small businesses get back on their feet," Clark said.
She noted that Republicans did not replenish those funds when they passed the last spending bill, so in the meantime, these people "have been left out in the lurch."
"I just wanted to point out that this kind of chaos and dysfunction has real world impacts on hardworking people, and it's irresponsible and wrong," Clark said.
Musk's team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for a response to the comments on his role in the spending bill negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump has endorsed getting rid of the debt ceiling as part of the spending package in an interview with NBC News.
The U.S. national debt currently stands at over $36 trillion.
Trump reportedly said abolishing the debt ceiling would be the "smartest thing [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely."
President-elect Trump on Wednesday said he is "totally against" the continuing resolution (CR) being debated by the House to keep the government from shutting down through March.
Trump spoke with "FOX & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones on Wednesday, telling him the "fight starts now."
"I just spoke with President-elect [Trump], and he is ‘totally against’ the proposed CR," Jones wrote in a post on X.
In another post, the morning show co-host wrote, "The President-elect [Trump] believes that the ‘fight starts now,’ rather than waiting until he is sworn in.
Jones later wrote, "The President-elect [Trump] acknowledged [House Speaker Mike Johnson’s] challenging situation but emphasized that this approach is not the appropriate course of action."
Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., released the text of their 1,547-page CR on Tuesday evening after last-minute negotiations delayed its original planned release on Sunday. A source familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital more specifically that the deal was largely struck between the top two Democrats and Republicans in each chamber.
Since its release, the CR has seen strong opposition from conservatives and House GOP hardliners, many of whom are frustrated with unrelenting policy riders attached to the legislation, rather than a "clean" extension of government funding.
While the bill would avert a partial government shutdown through March 14 if passed, it also includes provisions on health care and ethanol fuel, along with $100 billion in disaster aid funding and measures to fund the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The bill also includes the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009.
Republican congressional leaders have defended their plan for a stopgap spending bill, arguing it would allow Trump to have a greater influence on spending when the question comes up again in the spring.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance released a statement on the spending bill on Wednesday.
"The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed," they wrote. "Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch.
"If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.
"Republicans want to support farmers and pay for disaster relief while setting the country up for success in 2025."
"The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country," they said. "Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH.
"If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief. THIS CHAOS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IF WE HAD A REAL PRESIDENT. WE WILL IN 32 DAYS!"
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who was appointed co-chair of Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), also came out in opposition to Johnson’s proposed bill to keep the government funded on Wednesday.
Musk turned to his social media platform X to argue that the 1,547-page document is full of "pork."
The other co-chair of DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, expressed skepticism of the bill on Tuesday, though he did not outright oppose Johnson’s solution.
"Currently reading the 1,547-page bill to fund the government through mid-March. Expecting every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same," Ramaswamy wrote on X.
The GOP holds a one-seat majority in the House, meaning Johnson will likely have to rely on Democratic votes to pass the bill. The legislation must also pass the Senate by the Friday deadline to avoid a shutdown.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Some lawmakers in the new Congressional DOGE Caucus are eyeing a crackdown on federal agencies work-from-home policies when Republicans take over the levers of power in Washington DC next year.
The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The caucus held its first meeting on Tuesday, which lawmakers described to Fox News Digital as largely "organizational."
DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital the room was full of interested lawmakers.
"We had 29 sign up to come, so we met in a small conference room. But it was packed – we had over 60 members attend," Bean said.
That included three Democrats – Reps. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Val Hoyle, D-Ore., and the first Democrat to join the DOGE Caucus, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
Documents given to attendees and shared with Fox News Digital encouraged lawmakers to think of what kind of DOGE goals would be "worthwhile lifts," "quick wins," "lower priority," and "low-hanging fruit" and other ways to organize and prioritize initiatives.
Asked about what some "low-hanging fruit" for the panel would be, Bean said, "People going back to work."
"We have a problem," Bean said. "[Federal workers] do a large amount of work from home. Which, that’s a debate – whether or not they’re productive working from home. But if they are working from home, we have between a 6 and 15% occupancy of billions of square foot of commercial buildings that we are spending billions on to upkeep and whatnot. Do we still need that much space if people aren’t using their offices?"
That was echoed by Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, who also attended the meeting.
"You know, when you take out security, you’ve got one percent of the federal government workers who are going in to work on a regular basis, and we’re paying for 100% of them all to have office space," Van Duyne said. "There’s lots of low hanging fruit. I just hope we can identify what those are."
Bean also dismissed accusations from critics of Musk and Ramamswamy’s DOGE push that it was a way for Republicans to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits
"That is not the intent," Bean emphasized. "It is not the intent [to be] cutting benefits, of either health or [veterans] or Social Security. But those benefits…have limited shelf life, unless we make reductions elsewhere. So the purpose is not to cut those things, but to safeguard them."
"It was a good introductory meeting of the caucus, kind of challenging us all to think about our expectations and how we can help, you know, take ideas and move them in to bill form and work through the normal committee process to do that," Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., said.
"I’ve even gotten a lot of ideas from constituents…I think this is a really great grassroots effort."
House GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore, R-Utah, another DOGE Caucus co-chair alongside Bean and Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said "there’s a billion and a half ideas, and we need to make it so it’s actually actionable for Vivek and Elon."
Both Bean and Moore indicated that the next steps for the caucus would be to split up into working groups targeting various aspects of DOGE’s mission.
The next caucus meeting is expected in January, Bean said.
A Republican lawmaker is declaring that she will forgo many of the traditional day-to-day obligations of the House GOP Conference, suggesting she will dedicate more of her time to aiding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., said she plans to reject any House committee assignments she is given and will refuse to attend the House GOP’s weekly conference meetings.
"I will stay as a registered Republican but will not sit on committees or participate in the caucus until I see that Republican leadership in Congress is governing," Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., wrote on X on Monday evening.
"I do not need to be involved in circuses. I would rather spend more of my time helping [DOGE]… to save our Republic, as was mandated by the American people."
Spartz did not elaborate on how she would focus her efforts on DOGE.
She has bucked House GOP leadership several times during the 118th Congress, chiefly on issues of government spending and the national debt. She is currently a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
DOGE is a nonbinding advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Donald Trump to recommend areas for cutting spending and improving the efficiency of the federal government.
He tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead it, and the push has been met with enthusiasm among House Republicans.
A co-chair of the House of Representatives’ Congressional DOGE Caucus said there is "real motivation" behind accomplishing its mission of cutting the federal deficit.
Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, is House GOP Conference vice chair and the No. 6 House Republican, and recently joined Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in leading the caucus.
The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The caucus’ first meeting is slated for Tuesday. Moore said he hopes they can "create some structure on what we want to accomplish and set some initial first easy wins."
He did not elaborate on what those wins would be, but suggested one of the caucus’ main goals would be delivering recommendations to Musk and Ramaswamy on how to make the federal government more efficient.
"We've got people that have great ideas from their various committees on things, areas that we can find efficiencies, and just get that all on paper and eventually, you know, provide some recommendations," Moore said.
The Utah Republican is hopeful that his unique position as a member of House leadership will allow him to be a conduit between the caucus and fellow congressional leaders.
"I was looking for another opportunity to help serve the conference," Moore said of his decision to become a co-chair. "There is a ton of bipartisan work that's already been done on this type of stuff for years leading up to it. We needed this moment as a catalyst to do it. So I am just thrilled to be a part of the leadership team."
He also suggested that the enthusiasm for DOGE was unlike anything he'd seen for prior government initiatives.
"There's real motivation behind this, and the American people are galvanized by this. For example, I'm the chair, co-chair of the Ski and Snowboard caucus. Utah has… got the best ski – greatest snow on earth and all that. That doesn't draw the attention," Moore said.
"But I became a co-chair also of the DOGE Caucus, and you could tell a widespread interest in this from both media back home [and] constituents. We have to honor that."
Moore also dismissed concerns that DOGE’s internet meme-inspired branding might make people take it less seriously, arguing instead that it will help make Americans enthusiastic about the mission.
"Doge" is also the name of an internet meme popular in the 2010s, depicting a Shiba Inu and frequently accompanied by phrases in broken English representing the dog’s supposed internal monologue.
Musk has made no secret of his affinity for the meme, and even coined the name "Department of Government Efficiency" while posting references to it on X, formerly Twitter, before Trump made it a reality. He’s also promoted a cryptocurrency of the same name.
"I've never seen so much excitement and engagement from my constituents," Moore said. "The fact that it's the Doge, I think this is how people connect now. Like, you know, that's a good thing because it makes it relatable. And so I think it's definitely something that kind of makes people laugh a little bit and just find the irony in it."
"Whatever can get people's attention, you have to use that for good. Then you've got potential for impact."
FIRST ON FOX: A potential showdown over the U.S. debt limit is projected to hit Capitol Hill by mid-June, a new calculation suggests.
The Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) released a new model Monday that said it is "possible" the U.S. government would exhaust the ability to pay its debts by June 16, 2025.
"The government is projected to run about a $2 trillion deficit next year. And so that means that the spending obligations that Congress and the government have incurred are a lot more than what we're going to bring in tax revenues," Matthew Dickerson, director of Budget Policy at EPIC, told Fox News Digital. "To be able to pay the things the government has promised to pay on time, you need to increase the debt limit."
An agreement struck by President Biden and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year suspended the debt limit through January 2025. In that time, the national debt surpassed $36 trillion.
EPIC’s analysis projected that "extraordinary measures" that can be invoked by the Treasury Department to avoid national default can carry the U.S. for roughly six more months at most, until a day known as the "X-date."
Failure to raise the debt limit could lead to major spirals in the U.S. and global economies.
Biden and McCarthy’s deal was struck in late May of last year, just days ahead of a projected federal default on June 5. By that point, credit agency Fitch had already downgraded the U.S.’ longstanding AAA credit rating to AA+, temporarily roiling domestic financial markets.
When asked if he was bracing for another 11th-hour agreement, Dickerson pointed out that Congress already has a litany of urgent legislative priorities to start off next year even before debt limit talks.
However, those negotiations can also be an ideal opportunity for Republicans to negotiate major deficit reduction ideas into law, EPIC's paper argued.
"Reaching the debt limit should be a wake-up call and a signal to do something, sound the alarm," Dickerson said.
The report said debt limit talks "historically helped facilitate the political environment needed for deficit reduction agreements, presenting an opportunity in 2025 to pair necessary debt limit increases with reforms to control spending and promote economic growth."
It went on to blame the ballooning national debt on "excessive spending."
"Since August 2019, the debt limit has been modified four times: two suspensions and two dollar-specific debt limit increases. Over these five years, the debt has grown by about $13.9 trillion," the report said. "The current fiscal trajectory, where government spending would exceed historical norms and grow faster than the economy, is unsustainable and harmful to American families."
The debt ceiling is the total amount the federal government is able to borrow in order to pay its obligations, including Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, and veterans’ payments – among countless other payments.
The talks that led to suspending the debt limit last year were part of a messy, protracted battle over government spending that fueled chaos in the 118th Congress.
In addition to dealing with Democratic demands to raise or suspend the debt limit with no preconditions, McCarthy also faced pushback from GOP hardliners who opposed acting on the fiscal cliff without steep spending cuts – which were non-starters for most on the left.
Additionally, while the players will be different next year – President-elect Donald Trump instead of Biden, McCarthy replaced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republicans flipping the balance of power in the Senate – Dickerson pointed out that the GOP’s slim margins in Congress will mean Democrats will still need a seat at the negotiating table.
"You’re going to need to be able to have something that brings along everybody so we can get a bipartisan agreement," he said, while also adding, "President Trump is going to not want to sign something that is seen as massively increasing spending and being irresponsible on debt."
House GOP allies of President-elect Donald Trump are pushing for him to have greater control over Congress’ annual government spending process next year.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is introducing a bill on Monday that would repeal a measure that forces the president to direct the federal government to spend the full amount of money allocated by Congress every year.
Clyde told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he also plans to introduce the bill in the next Congress, when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House – and that the issue is already being discussed in Trump’s circle.
"That was certainly a topic that was brought up" with Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk when they were on Capitol Hill earlier this month to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency, Clyde said.
"They’re in favor of it, because how can you be efficient and not have the ability to reduce spending? You simply can’t."
He also told a small group of reporters earlier this month that incoming Trump Office Of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought "is very much in favor of this."
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed during the Nixon administration and aimed at stopping the president from having unilateral say over government spending.
Currently, a president must get congressional approval to rescind any funding that has been allocated for a certain year. The funds in question can be held for up to 45 days while the request gets processed.
"I think the authority is very, very important for the president to exercise," Clyde said. "Ever since Congress introduced that act, you’ve seen spending literally spiraling upwards. And that’s just not good for our country."
Clyde’s bill would roll back the Impoundment Control Act. A corresponding bill is being introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Clyde said over a dozen House Republicans are backing his bill as well.
Musk and Ramaswamy advocated for Trump to have greater authority to rescind funding in an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal last month, after the president-elect tapped them to lead an advisory panel on cutting government waste.
The Georgia Republican acknowledged that the bill has long odds in the current Democrat-controlled Senate and with just one week left in the congressional term, but said he would "definitely" introduce it in the next Congress.
He described Monday’s introduction as "putting a flag in the ground, saying ‘Hey, this is an authority that the president should be able to use in an unhindered fashion, and we are going to help.’"
However, the issue is likely to fall along partisan lines. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, responded to Musk and Ramaswamy’s op-ed by calling their ideas "as idiotic as they are dangerous."
"Unilaterally slashing funds that have been lawfully appropriated by the people’s elected representatives in Congress would be a devastating power grab that undermines our economy and puts families and communities at risk," Boyle said in a statement.
A top New Jersey lawmaker is proposing legislation to form a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Garden State, modeling it after the one Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are forming at the federal level.
"We need it more" than Washington, Senate Minority Whip Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, said.
"We're mirroring what the federal government and what those two gentlemen are doing."
Pennacchio, who also previously worked under former Republican Gov. Donald DiFrancesco on economic development, said NJDOGE would take on a state budget that has increased 60% in the past seven fiscal years.
"A lot of those increases were one-shots, when they borrowed money during the period of COVID. You're not going to get that back. … They haven’t even spent it all. Those one-shots, they’re all gone.
"I’ve seen estimates of a budget deficit next year of maybe $4 billion. Next year is the governor’s race. We will have a new governor, and regardless of who comes in — Republican or Democrat — it would be nice to have a committee together to give them a blueprint of what we can or should not do."
He said the state does have a "red tape" commission set up by former Gov. Chris Christie to trim regulations, adding it hasn’t borne results.
"Every dollar we save is $1 less that [Trenton] has to raise taxes," Pennacchio said.
Pennacchio’s committee, if approved, would consist of one member from the state Treasury, one from the Chamber of Commerce, the top Republican and Democrat from the Senate and General Assembly and one public member appointed by the governor.
"[N]ot only can we start to chip away at our exacerbated affordability crisis by cutting wasteful spending and ensuring efficiency, we can also ease the financial burden for our constituents across the Garden State by lowering the onslaught of taxes and fees," Pennacchio said.
At least one other state senator is planning to endorse the idea but has not yet done so publicly. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives of the General Assembly for their reaction to the senator’s legislation.
Despite being long viewed as a reliably "blue" state, New Jersey came within about four points of electing Donald Trump instead of Vice President Kamala Harris. Political analysts pointed to the results as evidence of a tidal shift in public opinion toward government spending, among other subjects.
Trump twice won Morris County and flipped Passaic County in 2024, parts of which Pennacchio represents. The lawmaker said his constituents are on board with his NJDOGE proposal and that they’ve similarly recognized disparities in the funding support they receive from Trenton.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump Transition for comment on the plan.
"My district is a district that is getting the bills. Schools in my district are seeing cuts while schools in other districts are not seeing cuts," Pennacchio said.
"It is stuff like this that we should look at. … If the legislature sees fit that they still want to subsidize this nonsense, then that's fine. They’ll be on record.
"Let's greet the next new governor with outlines of what they can do, where there are cost savings, where things can be eliminated; that will stimulate the economy, maybe decrease taxes on the people."
The 2025 field for that governor’s race is packed, with several top names in both partisan primaries.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Senate Leader Steve Sweeney and representatives Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer round out the Democratic choices.
Truck driver and former state Sen. Ed Durr, Sen. Jon Bramnick, conservative journalist Bill Spadea and 2021 gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli are the top names on the Republican side.
State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Lakewood, also joined Pennacchio's call for a NJDOGE.
"With President Trump's plan to bring business back to the U.S., New Jersey has the chance to lead the charge. It's time to restore our state's manufacturing glory with high-paying jobs," Singer said.
"Let's make New Jersey the blueprint for the Make America Work Again movement, starting with a statewide DOGE."
Recently, large drones have been spotted across Pennacchio’s district, making nationwide news.
Pennacchio slammed the feds for offering Jerseyans few answers on the aircraft, saying that when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, government officials knew right away who orchestrated it.
"We even had some face time with the Department of Homeland Security (about the drones). They were useless. … They should be ashamed of themselves. The FBI director, he checked out. [Christopher Wray] already announced that he's leaving. … So who's minding the store here?"
Every Member of Congress will have a DOGE in the fight.
As in DOGE, the incipient but still unofficial "Department of Government Efficiency." Congress hasn’t voted to create such a department. There’s been no presidential executive order. But quasi-President Trump-elect advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are spearheading the enterprise.
"It's unclear to me what exactly the objective is related to this so-called DOGE initiative," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Incoming President Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy say the goal is to cut spending. Perhaps by as much as $2 trillion in the next two and a half years. Slates of congressional Republicans met with Musk and Ramaswamy on Capitol Hill late last week. The message? ‘Tis the season to be frugal.
"Elon and Vivek talked about having a naughty list and a nice list for members of Congress and senators and how we vote and how we're spending the American people's money," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Republican expectations for DOGE are stratospheric.
"We need to start cutting our budget and cutting it soon," said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
"Every single Republican wants to get about the business of cutting fraud, waste and abuse," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
"We can't just continue to do everything for everyone," said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
But Republican political aspirations for DOGE and spending cuts could soon slam into legislative reality.
"It’s going to require not only statutory authority to do it, which means it'll have to go to the committees of jurisdiction. But then it has to go to where everything gets funded," said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. "And how we can get enough votes to actually put it into force."
Cuts don’t just happen magically in Congress. There’s no magic wand. Implementation of everything requires votes on the floor. And Republicans barely control the House.
"It's clear that the incoming House Republican majority will not be able to do much without us," said Jeffries.
House Republicans begin the new Congress in January with a 219-215 advantage over the Democrats. But that slips to a margin of one vote in late January after Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., leaves to become National Security Adviser. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will depart after the Senate confirms her for United Nations Ambassador. So Republicans have no votes to spare to do things on their own.
Plus, many Democrats aren’t enamored with Elon Musk.
"Elon Musk has largely proved himself to be an efficient liar and self-serving plutocrat. And so I don't have high hopes for him having anything other than pretty awful ideas," said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Tex., the incoming chairman of the House Progressive Caucus.
Musk and Ramaswamy are political icons. But this is not the first ambitious effort to slice substantial federal spending. Some "blue ribbon" commissions lacked the star power wattage of the dynamic duo of Musk and Ramaswamy.
One of the most ballyhooed – and successful – efforts to pare the federal government came in 1993. President Clinton and Vice President Gore promised they were "reinventing government" and planned to change things in Washington. Their initiative wasn’t focused so much on debt reduction – but reducing the size and scope of federal influence.
"At the end of six months, we will have real results and real proposals to offer," said Gore in March, 1993. "Write it down. Check back with us. We'll be checking back with you. We don't need another report to put on the shelf to collect dust. We do need a real plan for action."
In the end, the Clinton-Gore approach sliced more than 400,000 federal jobs and shrank the size of 13 of 14 federal departments. But over time, those jobs crept back up to where they are today. The federal government currently employs about three million workers.
In 2010, late Sen. and Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and late Clinton Budget Director Alice Rivlin assembled a budget plan known as "Domenici-Rivlin" in the Washington vernacular. The package was designed to help the U.S. recover from the 2008 recession and curb the debt. They tried to address exploding health care costs. Lawmakers adopted a few components of their recommendations over the years, but the impact was minimal.
In 2011, the U.S. faced a debt ceiling crisis. Congress created a "supercommittee" comprised of bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers to concoct a plan to reduce spending – or force a set of Draconian, mandatory cuts known as "sequestration." It would chop about $1 trillion in federal spending each year. Well, the committee failed to forge an agreement. Thus, the panel became "the committee, formerly known as super." The automatic sequestration spending cuts then set in.
President Obama signed an executive order to establish the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Former Senate Majority Whip Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles co-chaired the commission. Its proposals were known simply as "Simpson-Bowles." The panel recommended a host of cuts, including a reduction in military spending and tax hikes – plus a levy on gasoline. Congress later adopted a few individual recommendations from Simpson-Bowles. The House even soundly defeated a budget modeled on Simpson-Bowles in 2012.
But what about cutting actual spending? Expect some lawmakers to attempt to dodge the DOGE. Denting the debt could mean trimming popular programs. On Meet the Press, NBC’s Kristen Welker asked President-elect Trump about his plans for the most expensive government programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
"We’re not touching Social other than we make it more efficient. But the people are going to get what they're getting," said the next president.
"So the entitlement's off the table?" asked Welker.
"And we're not raising ages or any of that," replied Mr. Trump.
Entitlements consume more than 60% of all federal spending. And despite what Trump says, multiple congressional Republicans have called for altering the retirement age for eligibility for programs. It’s believed that such an approach would stabilize entitlements, making them more solvent.
"There is some waste, abuse and fraud in Medicare," said Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo. "And on the front end on Social Security, I think there's a way when people are living longer, they're retiring later that on the front end, we can move that retirement age back a little bit." said Alford.
Half of all money Congress allocates annually goes to the Pentagon. Congressional Republicans want to even boost military funding next year.
Democrats say there’s not enough money available to cut from other areas to make up the difference.
"You're not going to be able to extract the kind of savings that you need to actually balance the budget just from government efficiency," said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., on Fox.
Still, the GOP says it must get serious about spending cuts and not just talk about it.
"You can't campaign on freedom and limited government and low taxes and low spending and cutting the deficit and then not do it," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex.
That’s why congressional budget cutters face tough challenges. Voters will watch what lawmakers keep. And what they eliminate. And there could be political consequences for cutting too much. Or not keeping promises.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn will roll out a package of legislation backing up Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) objectives, as Republican lawmakers launch legislative efforts to rally behind the cost-cutting efforts.
The Tennessee Republican announced her plans to unveil the "DOGE Acts" in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. They would seek to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., freeze federal hiring and salaries for one year, and get federal workers back in the office.
The GOP senator will reportedly unveil a series of measures that will mirror more of the framework being pushed by the new agency to cut government spending, according to the senators' spokesperson.
"I will be introducing legislation that coincides with @DOGE’s plan to make the federal government more efficient," Blackburn said in a post on X.
"My DOGE Act will freeze federal hiring, begin the process to relocate agencies out of the D.C. swamp, and establish a merit-based salary system for the federal workforce," Blackburn said.
A spokesperson for the senator later revealed that she plans to announce several of these bills.
"Senator Blackburn is planning to introduce a package of bills – known as the DOGE Acts – aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for managing taxpayer dollars next week," Blackburn’s spokesperson said in a statement, the Hill reported. "The DOGE Acts coincides with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan to make the federal government more efficient."
Musk responded to the senator's tweet, writing "thank you" in a post.
The announcement came after Musk and Ramaswamy, the pair appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the efforts, spent the day meeting with lawmakers to discuss cost-cutting opportunities and objectives.
Lawmakers told Fox News Digital that they were "very impressed" with the DOGE framework following their meetings with the duo.
Along with Blackburn's legislative plans, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate's DOGE Caucus, unveiled a 60-page cost-cutting proposal during a meeting with GOP senators and Ramaswamy on Thursday.
The DOGE efforts have already gained bipartisan support from Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., joining the House's GOP-led congressional caucus. Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked whether he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering, "Yes."
Republicans have big plans for spending cuts next year, but some GOP lawmakers are doubting Congress can muster the momentum for significant changes.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel on cutting spending and the national debt, were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a series of meetings with lawmakers on how Congress and the White House can work together to achieve that goal.
And while that advisory panel is chiefly aimed at what executive actions Trump could take, lawmakers are conceding that significant, lasting change must be achieved through legislation. And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there.
"The problem’s in that room," said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referring to other GOP lawmakers who met with Musk and Ramaswamy.
"These guys, you know, they talk real tough," but they did not vote in ways he believed showed they were serious about cutting spending.
"You don’t see a lot of that. Now, when is that going to start? Is it going to start just because Elon and Vivek [address us]?" Burchett asked. "I just worry about us losing steam. … We’ve got to get some guts, and people have got to hold us accountable."
Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Fox News "a lot of members" stood up to suggest ways to "save money" during Thursday afternoon’s brainstorming session with Republicans and the DOGE duo.
"One would think more of them would have been willing to vote, cast votes on the floor of the House in order to do those things early," Bishop added.
The DOGE discussions have opened up longstanding wounds within the House GOP, whose members spent a significant amount of the 118th Congress battling among themselves over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues.
A senior House GOP aide expressed optimism about the new goal but added that Musk and Ramaswamy were "swinging for the fences."
"The hard part is once they find the stuff to cut, I think it’s Congress who has to do the actual cutting, right?" the aide said.
Another senior GOP aide said, "The mission of DOGE is worthy and absolutely necessary, but nothing is going to change. We aren’t going to cut spending like we [have to] to get our fiscal house in order, and we aren’t going to slash waste at any significant level."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also skeptical, told Republicans at Thursday's meeting they needed to "grow a spine" to actually move meaningful spending cuts.
"I've said to my colleagues, ‘If you can't print money, if, literally, it was banned today, what would you do?’ You would do what you do for your home budget. You would say, 'Well, we can't take a vacation here. I can't get a fancy new car because I need to get braces for my child,'" Roy told WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor.
"We don't ever do that, and, until we do, all of the DOGE waste-cutting in the world won't help. We’ve got to do both. We need the waste-cutting, but we need Congress to grow a spine."
Some Republicans are skeptical of having Musk and Ramaswamy lead the charge.
"They had no game plan — a wish list that they’re giving to Santa and the American people that will never be even remotely accomplished," one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital of Thursday's meeting.
The GOP lawmaker called DOGE a "magical department that has been erected out of thin air," and pointed out its logo was heavily inspired by a cryptocurrency known as "dogecoin" that Musk has backed.
"They’regoing to run into a brick wall called ‘members of Congress who know how to do our job,’" the lawmaker said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressional Republicans are planning to work closely with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, the pair co-leading Trump's newly formed spending cuts project, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The DOGE duo made their rounds with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, spending the morning with members of the Senate DOGE Caucus before heading to a meeting with House GOP leaders and House DOGE Caucus representatives.
The pair, who will spearhead efforts under President-elect Trump to slash government spending and strengthen government efficiency under the incoming Trump administration, wrapped up their day on Capitol Hill by addressing a joint meeting with Republicans of both chambers.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., incoming chair of the DOGE House subcommittee, revealed that, during the meeting, Musk said there would be a "naughty list" and a "nice list" for lawmakers.
"There will be a lot more that is expressed in the days ahead," Johnson said as he left the meeting. "Stay tuned for more to come."
Co-chairs of the DOGE House caucus said there was a "big discussion" during the meeting with Musk and Ramaswamy about education and the redundancy of government workers.
"There is so much waste, fraud and abuse. There is so much inefficiency. Where do we begin?" DOGE Caucus co-chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said.
He suggested there was already "low-hanging fruit" for improving government efficiency that Republicans could agree on that included the issues of education and the federal workforce.
"There was a big discussion about education. There was a big discussion about redundancy of government workers as they exist in programs across the country. This was not a ‘pick your program and select it and get agreement.’ This was the idea forum," said co-chair Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.
Sessions also highlighted how the timeframe for DOGE, which is expected to conclude no later than July 4, 2026, on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence's signing, will help ensure agency efficiency.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, walking out of the meeting, told reporters that "we’re going to gut the fish."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, however, was skeptical of them relying on the new department to cut costs.
"It's a little rich to go, ‘Oh DOGE, save us.’ What, from ourselves?" Roy told reporters. "What I told them is, their best role is to expose the absolute stupidity coming out of this body."
But Rep-elect Mike Haridolopos, R-Fla., argued it was good to have an outside eye looking at how the federal government is run.
"The lowest-hanging fruit, one overall thing we need to do is eventually pass a balanced budget amendment," he said of where Congress could help cut waste. "I think the second one is that people have to show up to work. Everybody else in America, they don't show up to work, they don't get paid. And so these government employees need to show up to work."
Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked if he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering "yes."
Musk sat down with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday morning, while Ramaswamy met with the Senate DOGE Caucus to hear from chair Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., who unveiled a 60-page proposal for potential spending cuts.
Former national security advisor John Bolton described raising the U.S. defense budget as the top foreign affairs priority.
"The single most important priority in foreign affairs today is to increase the American defense budget. I think Congress would support a major increase if Trump proposed it. I hope that's what he does," Bolton declared in a post on X.
Bolton said last month during an appearance on CNN that he hopes Pete Hegseth, who Trump nominated to serve as Defense Secretary, secures "a massive increase in the Defense Department budget," noting that if domestic spending could be slashed so the deficit does not increase, "that would be important too."
Bolton has asserted that the Senate should oppose Trump's pick of Kash Patel to serve as FBI director.
"John Bolton has been wrong about everything so I guess Kash must be pretty awesome," Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said in a post on X.
Bolton previously suggested that the Senate should reject Trump's nomination of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for the role of director of national intelligence, and of Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
Bolton, who served as national security advisor during a portion of Trump's first term, previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during a portion of President George W. Bush's White House tenure.
