DOGE is now dramatically raising the potential for a government shutdown

Senior Republicans are seriously exploring how to include cuts made by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency in an upcoming government funding bill — a move that would skyrocket tensions with Democrats and drastically raise the potential for a government shutdown.

Top GOP leaders and President Donald Trump’s team have been discussing the idea, which is far from finalized, according to three people who were granted anonymity to discuss the conversations.

But one of the people said the idea would be to codify some of the "most egregious" examples of alleged waste that DOGE has identified and incorporate them into a government funding patch through the end of the fiscal year. Republicans would then dare Democrats to vote against the package, lest they be blamed for causing a shutdown come the March 14 deadline.

The strategy, if adopted, could help satisfy conservative hard-liners who are already upset Congress is hurtling toward another short-term spending patch. But it would scramble the politics of the looming shutdown fight considerably, alienating Democrats whose votes are needed to ensure passage given the narrow Republican majorities in both chambers.

Republicans were initially discussing moving ahead with a so-called clean continuing resolution, or CR, that would not include politically toxic policy riders. That would have put pressure on Democrats to fall in line, even as Republicans have ruled out adhering to Democratic demands that any funding bill include language to prevent Trump and Musk from overriding congressional spending decisions.

But codifying DOGE actions would be a nonstarter for Democrats, who are already feeling pressure from liberal voters to put up a fight. A vote for DOGE cuts of any sort would effectively be interpreted as an endorsement of what they have been calling an unconstitutional power grab.

Still, some senior Republicans see merit in the tentative plan: They believe if Trump presses Republicans to back the effort, they would get their own members to come on board and would only need to rely on a few Democratic votes to make up for any shortfall on the GOP side. Other top Republicans, however, are privately skeptical, scratching their heads at how they’d convince the necessary seven Democrats in the Senate to come along.

Notably, the idea was greeted with skepticism by key GOP senators Thursday. “I don't see how that could work,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins of Maine. Two other Republican appropriators expressed similar confusion.

The fact that Republicans are even considering such a play shows how bullish they are that the politics of cutting down the federal workforce — while messy and chaotic — skew in their favor.

The strategy would also be responsive to demands Speaker Mike Johnson is facing from his right flank to slash government spending in the funding bill. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), said he got assurances from GOP leaders that cuts would be made to discretionary spending as part of his agreement to vote for the House GOP budget plan earlier this week.

The speaker, asked about his specific assurances to Davidson as he left the House floor Thursday, told reporters, “Stay tuned.”

Johnson also suggested it could make sense to codify in the spending bill some of the Trump administration’s unilateral funding freezes, including for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been effectively dismantled by DOGE.

“It would not make sense to appropriate funds to divisions of an agency that doesn’t exist anymore, right?” Johnson said. But the speaker also said he wanted to pursue a funding patch that’s as “clean as possible,” suggesting the idea to incorporate DOGE cuts might not survive.

Some Republicans believe party leaders could put this idea forward to make a point, then later move to a “clean” CR without the pro-DOGE provision.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Topics

Potential government shutdown if Congress doesn't reach budget plan

There may be a government shutdown if both chambers of Congress can't reach a deal on funding the government. This comes after the House narrowly passed House Speaker Mike Johnson's budget ...
CBS News - 3d
Top Democrats accuse of Republicans of raising shutdown risk

Top Democratic negotiators on Friday accused Republicans of “walking away” from bipartisan government funding talks two weeks before the shutdown deadline. Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Rep. Rosa ...
The Hill - 3d
Trump's spending play raises 'risk of a shutdown,' top Democrats say

Politico - 3d
Analyzing potential economic consequences of DOGE cuts

The Trump administration ordered the termination of more than 6,000 Internal Revenue Service employees last week. According to a local union, that includes roughly 1,000 IRS workers in Kansas City ...
CBS News - 4d
Examining the potential ripple effects from DOGE cuts

A new report from Wired says that the Department of Government Efficiency's takeover of the federal bureaucracy is "worse than you think." Brian Barrett, the article's author and executive editor ...
CBS News - 2d
Johnson says deal to avert shutdown will probably be 'clean,' without DOGE cuts

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Wednesday that a stopgap to avert a government shutdown next month is “becoming inevitable” and that it will probably be as “clean” as possible, as both sides ...
The Hill - 4d
GOP push for DOGE cuts inflames talks to prevent shutdown

Growing calls among hardline House conservatives to incorporate cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) into a developing government funding bill are complicating efforts to ...
The Hill - 3d
A Trump DOGE Dividend Could Raise Inflation

President Trump floated giving taxpayers a piece of any savings that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting generates, which could reignite inflation.
The New York Times - Feb. 20
Francis’ Illness Raises a Hard Question: Who Governs if the Pope Can’t?

The Vatican says Pope Francis has continued making decisions and is improving, but his two-week hospital stay poses uncomfortable, unanswered questions about Vatican decision-making.
The New York Times - 3d
DOGE Sparks Surveillance Fear Across the US Government

The US government has increased the use of monitoring tools over the past decade. But President Donald Trump’s employee purges are making workers worry about how their data could be abused.
Wired - Feb. 21
DOGE Is Working on Software That Automates the Firing of Government Workers

Operatives working for Elon Musk’s DOGE appear to be editing the code of AutoRIF—software designed by the Defense Department that could assist in mass firings of federal workers, sources tell WIRED.
Wired - 6d
DOGE cuts pose potential liability for GOP in Virginia elections

Cuts to the federal workforce under President Trump are threatening to roil Virginia’s off-year elections this November as Democrats seek to make them a political liability in the battle for ...
The Hill - Feb. 23
Social Security chief's work with DOGE raises concerns, Warren says

Acting Social Security commissioner Lee Dudek is facing questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren over his reported actions.
CBS News - 5h
UnitedHealth now has to fight the government on another front. The stock is sinking.

The stock is having its worst day in five years, even as the company denied any new Justice Department investigation and a Mizuho analyst recommended buying.
MarketWatch - Feb. 21
Supreme Court Rejects, for Now, Trump’s Bid to Fire Government Watchdog

The court’s order indicated that it may return to the issue as soon as next week, when a trial judge’s temporary restraining order is set to expire.
The New York Times - Feb. 22
DOGE Puts $1 Spending Limit on Government Employee Credit Cards

The restrictions are already in place at the General Services Administration along with several other agencies. Soon they’ll roll out to most of the federal government, sources say.
Wired - Feb. 20
Multiple lawsuits challenging DOGE's efforts to cut federal government's size

The Trump administration is facing over 80 lawsuits that are making their way through the legal system. CBS News Department of Justice reporter Jake Rosen breaks down the latest developments.
CBS News - Feb. 21
How Elon Musk's DOGE reshaped government in its first 30 days

ABC News reports on the first 30 days of billionaire Elon Musk advising President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
ABC News - 6d
The government's chief watchdog goes to Capitol Hill for first time in DOGE era

Elon Musk and allies have portrayed DOGE as if no one has been hunting for waste or inefficiency, but the GAO is the government's established chief watchdog.
NBC News - 6d
What 15 Americans Think About Elon Musk and DOGE’s Government Cuts

Americans across the country are deeply split over Mr. Musk, with some welcoming his cuts to government and others outraged at what they see as an abuse of power.
The New York Times - 6d
How does the White House characterize Elon Musk's role in DOGE, government?

Elon Musk is doubling down on his threat demanding federal workers explain what they did last week or lose their jobs. CBS News White House reporter Aaron Navarro and CBS News executive director of ...
CBS News - 5d
DOGE Now Has Access to the Top US Cybersecurity Agency

DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Wired - Feb. 20
DOGE caught the car. Now what?: From the Politics Desk

In today’s edition, Jonathan Allen talks to federal workers about Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to the government. Plus, Steve Kornacki digs into how the public is viewing President Donald ...
NBC News - 5d
DOGE says it's now saved $65B in federal funds, but that's still impossible to verify

DOGE has updated its website to say it's slashed $65 billion in federal funding -- but they only provide records for $9.6 billion in savings from contract terminations.
ABC News - 4d
With student test scores flailing, DOGE cuts to Nation's Report Card raise red flags

Cuts to the Department of Education are hitting the highly valued Nation’s Report Card even as sirens blare on student test scores. The 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress ...
The Hill - 1d
Can you trust Elon Musk and his ‘DOGE’ claims about government fraud?

American people deserve answers about what these Washington outsiders-turned-insiders are up to
MarketWatch - Feb. 23
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says DOGE 'needs to be done' to fix government inefficiency

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Monday said the U.S. government is inefficient and in need of work as the Trump administration terminates thousands of federal employees and works to dismantle ...
NBC News - Feb. 24
Jamie Dimon calls U.S. government 'inefficient' and says Elon Musk's DOGE effort 'needs to be done'

In the wide-ranging interview, Dimon addressed his push to have most workers in office five days a week and his views on Ukraine, tariffs and the U.S. consumer.
CNBC - Feb. 24
Trump signs executive order giving DOGE more power over federal government

President Trump signed a new executive order Wednesday empowering the White House's Department of Government Efficiency to implement cost-cutting measures across the federal government. Shelby ...
CBS News - 4d
US may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring effect of Doge cuts

Howard Lutnick’s remarks echo Elon Musk, who says government spending doesn’t create value for US economy. US politics live – latest updates Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said on ...
The Guardian - 7h
47-year-old grew up thinking she’d work on a cattle farm—now her company raises millions for small businesses

Hello Alice co-founder Elizabeth Gore has worked with small businesses through the United Nations and Dell. Now she's doing it as an entrepreneur herself.
CNBC - Feb. 23
Shutdown fight collides with GOP push for Trump priorities

The race to prevent a government shutdown next month is colliding with Republican efforts to enact President Trump’s tax and funding priorities. Congressional negotiators have been struggling for ...
The Hill - 5d
Shutdown clock ticks with Trump set to address Congress

The shutdown clock is ticking on Capitol Hill as lawmakers look to fund the government by the looming March 14 deadline, an effort that has thus far been unsuccessful as the two parties trade blame ...
The Hill - 10h
Researcher shows "dramatic" change in Norway glacier ice levels

A new study this week in the Nature journal found mountain glaciers are melting more than twice as rapidly as in the early 2000s. They lost more than 600 billion tons of ice in 2023 when David ...
CBS News - Feb. 21
Russell misses conversion to hand England victory in dramatic final minutes

Watch as Scotland's Finn Russell misses a conversion in the final minute to hand England a 16-15 victory in the Six Nations.
BBC News - Feb. 22
How a dramatic day at the UN deepened cracks between Europe and US

The US shocked Europe by siding with Russia, Belarus and North Korea to pass resolutions on the conflict in Ukraine.
BBC News - 6d
The Dramatic House Budget Vote, and a New ‘Gold Card’ for Immigrants

Plus, how microphones changed music.
The New York Times - 5d