House Speaker Mike Johnson is officially putting the DOGE on a leash—and it's government waste that’s about to get walked.
According to the New York Post, After weeks of mounting criticism from grassroots conservatives, Johnson rolled out a plan to turn the Department of Government Efficiency’s spending cuts into law using a two-pronged legislative strategy.
Under the blueprint, House Republicans will pursue the DOGE proposals both through fall appropriations and a rescissions package designed to claw back unspent federal funds.
The pressure campaign came from all angles—activists, GOP leaders, and high-profile voices like Elon Musk and Gov. Ron DeSantis—many of whom questioned why Congress hadn’t moved faster to solidify the savings.
DeSantis didn't mince words, accusing fellow Republicans of betraying their voters by greenlighting foreign aid and neglecting domestic trimming efforts.
Musk, ever the blunt instrument, said he was “disappointed” by the House's giant spending bill, warning that it risks expanding the deficit and undercutting the very mission of DOGE.
In response, Johnson took the microphone and made his intentions clear: DOGE cuts are happening, and they're happening by the book.
“We will do that in two ways,” Johnson said—outlining both the incoming rescissions package and leveraging the upcoming appropriations process to embed the cuts into the federal budget.
He emphasized that the goal is to support what President Trump desires while answering conservatives’ demands for lasting reform to bloated federal spending.
The legislative disconnect lies in the type of spending targeted. Johnson’s much-celebrated “One Big Beautiful Bill” focused on mandatory programs like Medicaid, not the discretionary agency budgets that DOGE scrutinizes.
That bill, a $1.5 trillion package aligned with Trump’s economic priorities, passed before the Memorial Day deadline and touted over $1.6 trillion in savings over a decade.
But DOGE’s proposed $175 billion in discretionary savings—a claim that breaks down to $1,087 per taxpayer—was left out, sparking anger from fiscal hawks and MAGA loyalists alike.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who chairs a DOGE subcommittee, confirmed that the first piece of legislation enshrining those cuts will be introduced on Monday.
Supporters say that by targeting smaller agency programs and unnecessary bureaucratic slush funds, these savings complement—not compete with—Trump’s major reforms.
Representative Cory Mills is already ahead of the curve, having introduced a bill that mirrors DOGE’s proposed reductions.
It's worth noting that appropriations have historically been a political landmine. The failure to rein in government spending was one of the reasons former Speaker Kevin McCarthy got the boot in 2023.
Johnson appears to have learned from his predecessor’s mistakes, approaching the issue with sharper coordination and a clearer ideological mandate.
“Both are HISTORIC,” Johnson reminded critics. He’s placing DOGE and the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on the same pedestal—two battles in the war on federal bloat.
Not everyone is convinced. Analysts dispute DOGE’s $175 billion savings claim, and budget watchdogs take issue with the math behind the big spending bill, which could add $3.1 trillion to the national debt.
Musk’s comments in a national interview made waves, pointing to the contradiction between championing efficiency and funding expansive government operations.
Johnson, however, sees no contradiction—just different fronts in the same fight: “Both efforts are essential,” he insisted, underscoring the dual need to address discretionary and mandatory spending.
