Republican lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated as Congress drags its feet on enacting the Trump administration’s proposed $9.4 billion rescission package—a bold move designed to rein in spending and reassert fiscal discipline in Washington. The package, developed by President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), includes significant cuts to long-standing budget drains, namely $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $8.3 billion from various foreign aid programs.
These cuts reflect a broader conservative objective: redirecting taxpayer dollars back to priorities that serve American interests, not bureaucratic bloat or global projects with little domestic return. Yet despite the clear mandate and momentum from the administration, Congress appears slow to respond. That inaction has drawn criticism from fiscal hawks inside the GOP and high-profile allies outside of it.
Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of the Trump administration and its pro-America agenda, has not held back in expressing his disappointment. Musk, who previously supported what he called the “DOGE team”—a nickname for a faction inside the administration focused on streamlining government and cutting waste—criticized Congress for undermining that team’s work with out-of-control spending.
Musk’s concerns aren’t just a blip on social media. His influence among independents, conservatives, and younger voters makes his voice one that lawmakers cannot afford to ignore. Losing his support, especially heading into the midterms, could be a major blow to Republican momentum.
Fiscal conservatives like Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul have also spoken out. They, like Musk, see the rescission package as a litmus test of the GOP’s commitment to the principles it often campaigns on—limited government, lower taxes, and responsible spending. Paul, in particular, has called on his colleagues to invoke expedited rescission rules, which would allow the Senate to pass the cuts with a simple majority of 51 votes. The question remains: why isn’t Congress doing that?
BlazeTV’s Matt Kibbe weighed in this week, warning that failure to enact these cuts could fracture the conservative base. He stressed the need to keep the MAGA movement’s fiscal priorities alive. Kibbe also noted the hypocrisy in pushing a “big, beautiful bill” that raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and adds $350 billion in new spending—while ignoring the chance to show immediate savings through targeted cuts.
The optics are not good. Conservatives are asking: how can we talk about economic responsibility with a straight face while ignoring $9.4 billion in easy cuts?
The rescission package is more than symbolic. It’s a real opportunity to send a message that the days of unchecked spending are over. Cutting taxpayer funding to public broadcasting—a network that many see as ideologically biased—and slashing unnecessary foreign aid are commonsense moves that resonate with voters tired of business as usual.
The GOP has a choice. Deliver on promises of fiscal discipline, or risk alienating the very voters who handed them power. With the midterms looming and trust in Congress at a low point, the time to act is now.
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