Congress

Capitol Hill’s DOGE-era power players

Published

2 years ago

November 27, 2024

Republican lawmakers are racing to embrace Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s push to chop up the federal government — even if their actual authority is still murky and the effort poses a potential threat to congressional power.

While President-elect Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) won’t formally get started until January, the team behind the office has already been meeting with GOP lawmakers, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Ideas that Musk and Ramaswamy are floating include cutting regulations, reducing the size of the federal workforce and mounting a legal bid to bypass Congress on spending cuts.

What has emerged from the early DOGE-Capitol Hill discussions is a growing number of Republicans eager to work with the office, including not only MAGA favorites like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, but also incoming Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chair Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa. Ernst, a one-time Trump critic who has recently huddled at Mar-a-Lago, is spearheading a dedicated DOGE caucus.

Many of those Republicans have previously pushed to cut spending, making DOGE an opportunity to bear hug one of Trump’s first big initiatives and also advance their own long-held goals.

One group of outliers appear to be appropriations committee leaders, the senior lawmakers who control Congress’ power of the purse and would nominally be crucial to executing any DOGE recommendations. They face a potential challenge to their power, with Musk and Ramaswamy floating the possibility of circumventing Congress in their bid to slash the federal bureaucracy. Further complicating things is the fact that DOGE, though created by Trump, won’t be a formal part of the government and is poised to act in a pure advisory fashion.

What follows is a run-down of how Republican House members and senators are jockeying for influence in the DOGE era.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.)

Less than four years ago, 11 Republicans joined with Democrats to remove Greene from congressional committees over a series of incendiary comments and actions. This January, she’ll be leading the new House Oversight subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, which is being tasked with helping Musk and Ramaswamy at DOGE.

It will give one of Trump’s loudest allies on Capitol Hill an official perch where she can coordinate with the administration, drive her own policy ideas and pressure recalcitrant GOP colleagues. Greene said in a statement that her subcommittee will “work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the entire DOGE team.” House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky said in an interview that Greene would be a “good match” with Musk and Ramaswamy given her previous experience as a small business owner.

Greene’s ascendance comes as Speaker Mike Johnson pushes for her to be a more active player in the GOP conference, which could work to his benefit as he tries to shore up support for keeping his gavel in January.

Greene’s subcommittee is expected to target “wasteful spending,” come up with ideas for reorganizing federal agencies and identify ways to “eliminate bureaucratic red tape,” said a person granted anonymity to discuss the panel’s plans.

House Oversight Chair James Comer (left) said in an interview that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (center) would be a “good match” with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy given her previous experience as a small business owner.

Greene is lobbing a more direct warning, saying the subcommittee would help “expose people who need to be FIRED.”

Comer said the Oversight Committee’s jurisdiction of the federal workforce would be a big area of overlap with Trump’s DOGE team. Musk and Ramaswamy indicated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed this month that they would try to get around protections that make it harder to fire federal employees. They are also considering pushing for a five-day return to office as a way to thin the federal workforce.

Comer and Greene have already met with Trump’s incoming DOGE team, including Ramaswamy, according to a person briefed on the discussion, who added that the Trump officials are “supportive of the Oversight Committee’s endeavor and are already working together.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)

Ernst is making an early bid to position herself as a lead Senate DOGE ally, where large swaths of Trump’s agenda still face pockets of GOP opposition and a Democratic filibuster.

Ernst is leading a new DOGE caucus and outlining trillions in potential spending cuts or savings, arguing that DOGE’s mission is in line with her long-running “Squeal Awards” that target government waste. The House has its own DOGE caucus, spearheaded by Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).

Sen. Joni Ernst is leading a new DOGE caucus and outlining trillions in potential spending cuts or savings, arguing that DOGE’s mission is in line with her long-running “Squeal Awards” that target government waste.

Ernst’s move to align herself closely with DOGE, and by extension Trump and his allies, comes after she lost the race for Senate GOP conference chair earlier this month to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

Ernst met with Ramaswamy late last week at Mar-a-Lago, where she pitched him on ways to curb federal spending. Ramaswamy publicly thanked Ernst and said that DOGE officials “look forward to partnering with the Senate to downsize government.” Ernst then posted a photo on social media from over the weekend with Trump and Musk, saying she met with the incoming president to discuss his Cabinet.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

In the Senate, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will have the largest area of overlap with DOGE. Paul, a libertarian-leaning, small government Republican, will be its chair.

Paul has long been a gadfly for leadership and often pushes efforts to cut spending, which have routinely gotten votes on the Senate floor but been rejected by even some of his GOP colleagues.

Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning, small government Republican, will chair the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Paul during a recent Fox News interview, said that he was “all in” on helping DOGE, adding that “we’ve already forwarded them 2,000 pages of waste that can be cut.” He’s also pledged to give advice to Trump’s DOGE team about using recissions to clawback already approved government funding, which would require congressional signoff.

Cagey appropriators

Republican lawmakers who are responsible for crafting and spearheading funding legislation aren’t totally shutting the door on DOGE as it encroaches on their turf.

Musk and Ramaswamy are floating the possibility of circumventing Congress on steep cuts by mounting a legal challenge against the Impoundment Control Act, which places limits on a president’s ability to unilaterally withhold funding. They believe the Supreme Court, which has three justices nominated by Trump, would be favorable to them.

Key appropriators aren’t embracing that plan, but aren’t yet fighting back. Instead, in interviews with Blue Light News, Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and other members of the panel said they are waiting to see the details of what Trump is proposing and how realistic the plans from his allies are.

“I am not concerned at all,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), a member of the Appropriations Committee. “I learned a long time ago, stay calm, we’ll deal with all these issues as they come. Look, what are we even talking about? Is this something real?”

Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

Congress

McConnell to remain in rehab, will skip Fancy Farm picnic in Kentucky

Published

19 minutes ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that he will remain in rehab as he continues to recover from a June fall that left him briefly unconscious.

In a statement, McConnell shared that he is “working hard” to return to a full schedule but remains in “intense physical therapy.”

The Office of the Attending Physician (OAP) confirmed that medical staff visit the senator daily to discuss “all aspects of his rehabilitation care” but added he is “not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to office.”

“Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls,” the OAP said. “His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.”

McConnell, 84, was rushed to the hospital on June 14 following the fall and what he described as a “mild case of pneumonia.” In a letter to constituents earlier this month, he said that while he was briefly knocked unconscious, he did not suffer any broken bones, a stroke or a heart attack. It is unclear when McConnell was discharged.

But his continued rehab stay means McConnell will miss Kentucky’s premier political event: the annual Fancy Farm Picnic.

“There’s no place I’d rather be on the first Saturday in August than with the good people of western Kentucky, feasting on pork and mutton,” McConnell said Monday. “I hate that I’ll miss the fun this year, but I’m sending my best wishes to the St. Jerome community for a successful picnic.”

McConnell, who is retiring when his current term concludes in January, has faced a series of health challenges in recent years. In 2023, he froze twice while speaking to reporters. He has also experienced several other falls and, at one point, used a wheelchair as what his office called a precautionary measure.

Congress

Trump tells Thune to keep Senate in session to pass SAVE America Act

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump ramped up pressure Monday on Majority Leader John Thune, telling him to keep the Senate in session until a GOP election bill passes.

“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.

Democrats, he added, will nix the filibuster themselves when they regain power “and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership. Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!”

Trump’s Truth Social post comes after he urged supporters last week to call Thune about the SAVE America Act, then said Friday that he wanted Senate Republicans to adopt a blueprint for a $95 billion party-line spending bill, which would include some election-related funding, before they leave town for the August recess as planned on Aug. 6.

Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said over the weekend that they believed the Senate should stay in town until the election bill is passed. Lee has previously called for the Senate to stay in session through prior recesses to pass the SAVE America Act but has not forced the issue on the floor.

Despite Trump’s pressure campaign, the elections bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate and there isn’t enough support within the Senate Republican conference for nixing the filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation to advance.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Thune tries to focus as Trump fumes

Published

5 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

John Thune has a long to-do list, a shrinking runway for getting it done and a president in the peanut gallery.

The Senate is back Monday with only two more weeks — more realistically, eight legislative days — in town until the chamber leaves Washington through mid-September.

The majority leader wants to clear a government funding stopgap, a long-stalled Russia sanctions bill and dozens of nominees, but he’s also facing pressure from President Donald Trump and some of his right flank to make progress on the SAVE America Act, a GOP election bill that doesn’t have the votes to pass.

It’s the latter that will be the biggest headache for Thune after Trump told Senate Republicans to adopt the blueprint for a $95 billion spending bill, which would include election-related funding, before leaving for August break.

Most GOP senators, however, don’t expect that to happen — and the budget blueprint doesn’t have the 50 votes it needs right now among Senate Republicans to be adopted despite Trump’s public overture.

Then, over the weekend, Sen. Mike Lee signaled he opposed the Senate leaving for the recess without passing the election bill. Lee could force a vote if he wants to on whether or not to adjourn — though he’s previously tweeted about how the Senate shouldn’t leave and then done nothing about it. Sen. Rick Scott also posted Sunday that he stands with Lee in opposing a recess until SAVE America is passed.

Lee also fired off a warning for Thune, saying the fate of the election bill “could impact” the November Senate GOP leadership elections. Thune is running again for leader and most GOP senators believe he’s secure in his job. But a few, granted anonymity to speak candidly, have questioned if Trump, who is fuming behind the scenes, would target him after the midterms, especially if Republicans lose the majority.

Thune will have to balance those questions this week, while trying to move the agenda he views as actually accomplishable.

On that front, senators will take a vote Monday night on Jay Clayton’s director of national intelligence nomination (more on that below) and they could pass the Russia sanctions bill as soon as this week, if they can get a time agreement. This week is also key for Judiciary senators to decide whether to advance Trump’s attorney general pick Todd Blanche. And senators are working around funeral arrangements for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Likely waiting until next week: A vote on a bill to fund the government into December as bipartisan talks proceed positively, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. An initial vote on cryptocurrency legislation, known as the Clarity Act, is also likely to be punted to next week, but Democrats, so far, aren’t on board.

What else we’re watching:

— JEFFRIES MAKES HIS CLOSING MIDTERMS PITCH: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at an event in Pennsylvania’s swingy Lehigh Valley with Gov. Josh Shapiro and House candidate Bob Brooks to make his closing argument for why voters should hand his party the gavels 100 days from the midterms. His message? Affordability. Affordability. Affordability. The minority leader’s latest commitment to lowered costs gives a clearer preview of how Democrats would govern in the majority.

— FLOOD SEES FRAUD-BUSTING IN RECON 4.0: The head of a GOP group representing some of the House’s most vulnerable members this fall seems confident the party will tackle a fourth reconciliation bill with fraud-busting provisions. Republican’s Recon 3.0 budget framework is still facing an uncertain future in the Senate after being adopted by House lawmakers last week. But House Main Street Caucus Chair Mike Flood said in an interview he believes House Republicans do another party-line bill after the midterm elections. Read the full Q&A with Flood on PoliticoPro.

Riley Rogerson and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.