A Supreme Court decision last week said President Trump has the authority to cut the size and scope of the federal government allowing planned reductions in force to resume. In addition to those efforts, the administration’s 2026 budget request details how many employees the executive branch intends to cut in the coming year. It proposes a government wide 5 percent reduction in employees compared to the final year of the Biden administration.
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins defended her record at a wide-ranging House Agriculture Committee hearing this week that touched on trade, personnel reductions at USDA, and cuts to nutrition programs. She repeatedly mentioned her travel abroad and attempts to open foreign markets to U.S. farm goods and said, as she has before, that the previous administration had vastly increased the workforce at USDA, making it necessary to cut back. The department has lost about 15,100 employees through buyouts this year, raising concerns that some vital functions of the department will be hampered. But in response to criticism that the cuts have gone too far, she said, “We are adequately staffed to meet our mission.”
This week President Trump indicted that the administration will send legislation to the Hill to formalize spending cuts made by the Elon Musk headed Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. Those cuts would have to be done in subsequent rescissions and appropriations legislation, because of rules excluding changes to discretionary spending in the current budget reconciliation package. Passing a rescissions bill would claw back money that has been previously approved by Congress. This news comes as Musk announced his time at DOGE has come to an end.
In a statement on X, House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Musk and DOGE, saying they did “incredible work.” He said Republicans were eager to write the cuts into law, once the White House sends its rescissions package to the House. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought has said the administration plans to propose a $9 billion package of DOGE cuts that include cuts to foreign aid, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio and the Education Department.
The House reconciliation bill, now officially called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by a vote of 215-214 prior to the Memorial Day recess. It is intended to implement President Trump’s domestic agenda by extending expiring tax cuts; removing taxes on tips and overtime pay; increasing funding for border security, including continued construction of a border wall, and enhanced military funding, including a golden dome satellite defense system. In addition, the bill cuts spending on Medicaid, food aid, higher education and clean energy investments to pay for these new initiatives and to reduce overall federal expenditures. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, however, the bill is expected to increase budget deficits by $3.3 trillion by 2034, compared with doing nothing, though a final official estimate is not yet available. Also included in the bill is a $4 billion increase in the debt ceiling over the next two years.