21 Republicans Draw Line in Shutdown Showdown: No Deal Without DOGE

More than 20 Republican members of the House and Senate sent a letter Monday to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., making one thing clear: They will not give in to Democratic demands to stop Department of Government Efficiency cuts in exchange for a stopgap budget deal.

The letter, signed by nine senators and 12 members of the House, raises the stakes for Republican leaders, who are already on a time crunch, as President Donald Trump has urged a bipartisan continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that would avert a shutdown by funding the government by the deadline of March 14.

The letter is likely a response to statements by Democrats such as Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who has said that she and her fellow Democrats are willing to come to the table if guarantees are provided that Trump will not freeze funding and will back off of Elon Musk’s anti-bureaucratic measures.

The letter’s signatories warn against that, writing, “We understand that Democrats are insisting that any government funding deal include policy provisions that would tie the hands of the President and prohibit DOGE from continuing their efforts to promote transparency and accountability in government spending.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who signed the letter, told The Daily Signal in a statement that he’s dead set against any deal that would cripple the administration in the early days of its mandate.

“We stand with President Trump and the American people,” said Lee. “We will not allow any government funding package to sabotage his mandate to reform the federal government, drain the swamp, and save taxpayer dollars.” 

Sen. Rick Scott, a chief advocate of the letter, wrote on X, “Republicans must work together to stop Democrats from obstructing and undermining President Trump’s efforts to reduce wasteful spending and Make America Great Again!”

This warning to Republican leadership has teeth, too. 

If all of the signatories were to make good on their promise not to vote for a continuing resolution that accedes to Democrats’ demands, leadership would be unable to reach the simple majority needed to pass a continuing resolution in the House, or the 60 votes needed to end debate in the Senate.

“With the March 14th government funding deadline rapidly approaching, we are deeply concerned about recent reports of Democrats’ demands for a government funding agreement that would perpetuate the unsustainable status quo of wasteful spending,” reads the stern letter to Thune and Johnson.

The letter concludes with a promise—the 20 signatories will refuse to vote for any continuing resolution that would curb DOGE’s power.

“We will not support a government funding package that would be weaponized against President Trump at the very moment he is seeking to make good on the promises he made to the American people,” the letter states.

However, the lawmakers add that they wish to cooperate with Johnson and Thune on ensuring that the continuing resolution deal gives the president the power he needs to continue pursuing his campaign promises.

“We look forward to working with you to resist these attempts, and ensure that the president can continue to deliver on his mandate.”

Johnson has already said publicly that he opposes the concessions suggested by Democrats on cost-cutting measures.

Johnson said at a press conference in February, “I’m really hopeful that they’ll back off of those outrageous demands, because it’s unprecedented and, I think, probably unconstitutional. And it’s not anything we’ll be a part of.”

Thune has not gone into such specifics, but has indicated that he is in talks with Senate Democrats.

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