President Donald Trump is working with House Republicans on a clean continuing resolution (CR) to give his administration time to advance his agenda, and his outreach appears to be working.
Conservatives in the House Republican Conference have long chaffed at CRs, largely because they do not offer the opportunity for cuts.
But Trump’s seriousness about cutting spending – made evident through his Department of Government Efficiciency (DOGE) – appears to be winning over House Republicans.
DOGE head Elon Musk “has been out there pointing out waste, fraud, and about that we all thought was there, we all knew who was there, but nobody brought it to light,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said Thursday at the White House after meeting with Trump, praising the president’s commitment to reducing spending and transparent government.
Harris, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, was part of a group of conservatives in and outside of the Freedom Caucus who met with Trump on government spending, which expires March 14.
Trump and House conservatives “had a constructive and collegial back and forth discussion about how to responsibly fund the federal government before the deadline,” a person familiar told Breitbart News.
Trump is making his pitch in person and on the phone, explaining how a CR fits into his broader agenda.
“I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda,” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday.
“Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year, and allowing us to continue our work to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. VERY IMPORTANT – Let’s get this Bill done!”
Chip Roy, one of Congress’s most ardent spending hawks, told reporters:
There is overwhelming support to back the President’s agenda, to… give room for Elon Musk and DOGE, to give room for [Director] Russ Vought at [the Office of Management and Budget], to deliver [for] the American people and find and recognize the cuts that need to occur.
He added that Republicans backing the clean CR to “support what the President’s agenda is, to guarantee that we are able to reduce spending while making sure we can create the room for economic prosperity.”
Congress has a full plate as it works to craft a budget reconciliation package to unlock Trump’s legislative agenda. Reconciliation will be the vehicle to advance border, energy, defense, and tax policies – including making permanent Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire this year.
“The important thing is that the agenda that America voted for is not going to be slowed down,” Rep. Scott Perry, a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters. “Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are literally hoping and praying for a shutdown to stop the momentum of what the President’s agenda is, what the American agenda is.”
Perry said by passing a clean CR, Republicans can “make sure that we hold spending flat, keep identifying waste, fraud, and abuse in government, and then tee up what’s next, which is reconciliation,” Perry added.
While the executive branch cannot spend more than Congress appropriates through the power of the purse, many conservatives argue that the president through his impoundment authority can spend under that ceiling.
Roy argued that Trump can use his impoundment authority to spend even less than the CR would appropriate.
“The president can’t spend over that number, but the President can use impoundment, use the power of the executive branch as the chief executive, to spend what he thinks is appropriate on behalf of the taxpayer,” Roy said.
“We support that power,” he added. “We support Russ Vought using that power. So we want to make sure that we’re giving him room to do what the American people ask him to do.”
Trump and his allies will continue lobbying ahead of the expected CR vote next week.
But the progress in their discussions, particularly with conservatives with unquestioned spending hawk bona fides, signals the dawn of a new area of trust of the president from Congress regarding spending.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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