As lawmakers navigate Elon Musk and his unpopular Department of Government Efficiency, the White House is looking to codify DOGE’s cuts as soon as possible.
Three sources told NOTUS Wednesday that the White House will send Congress a $9.4 billion rescission package — essentially a request to send money back to the Treasury — next week.
The package, which is expected to come on Tuesday, according to one of the sources, will include a request to pull back funding for NPR, PBS and the United States Agency of International Development.
But the package will be a tough vote, particularly for vulnerable Republicans. There’s little incentive for Democrats to support the measure, and it could be an opportunity for some moderates to express their dissatisfaction with Musk’s chaotic cost-cutting operation. And while the House vote will be a challenge, the Senate could be even more burdensome.
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In the Senate, a rescission is privileged through the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which means the legislation would just need 50 votes. But moderate Republican senators would certainly be cautious about codifying steep cuts.
According to one of the sources, the package will not reflect all of DOGE’s cuts, but it will be an opportunity for lawmakers to discuss the overall reductions.
GOP leaders have previously warned President Donald Trump and the White House that passing a rescission package would be a challenge. Without the package, however, the cuts Musk has made haven’t actually saved taxpayers any money. Instead, the funds have been stuck in limbo, unspent by the agency but not returned to the Treasury.
News of the rescission package comes just a day after Musk expressed dissatisfaction with the reconciliation bill and its impact on the deficit during a CBS interview that will air Sunday.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,” Musk said in a clip teasing the interview.
After “CBS Sunday Morning” aired the comments from Musk, Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X that the House is “eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand.”
Johnson also defended spending cuts in the GOP’s “one big, beautiful bill,” claiming that the legislation “secured over $1.6 trillion in savings in mandatory spending (such as Medicaid).”
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Daniella Diaz and Reese Gorman are reporters at NOTUS.
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