Government Spending & Fiscal Policy News

The Daily Signal examines federal and state spending, efforts to cut waste and deficits, and the role of the DOGE initiative, with in-depth reporting, analysis, and conservative commentary on taxpayer dollars and government efficiency.
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  • news

    Why Budget Committee Conservatives Shot Down Part of the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

    The House Budget Committee voted down the budget reconciliation bill in a blow to leadership’s efforts to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” The bill was voted down 16-21 in committee, with Republican fiscal hawks—specifically Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma—voting…
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    Brandon Gill Comes Back From Parenting Newborn to Save Budget Bill

    Freshman Rep. Brandon Gill returned from leave with his newborn son Friday to participate in a contentious budget vote that could make or break Republican efforts to pass what President Donald Trump calls the “one big, beautiful” budget bill—aimed at funding his policy priorities and fulfilling a host of campaign promises. As of Friday morning,…
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  • news

    Johnson Holds Life-or-Death Budget Negotiations

    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson met with competing groups of Republican lawmakers Thursday morning on issues that could decide whether or not the GOP’s “big, beautiful” budget bill passes the House. Johnson, R-La., is working at a feverish pace to pass a budget reconciliation bill that would fulfill President Donald Trump’s campaign promises, such…
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    Kennedy Defends HHS Budget, Staffing Cuts in Face of Democrats’ Criticism

    At a hearing before a Senate panel Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the case that he’s running a cost-efficient, yet effective, HHS. “When my team and I took the helm at HHS, we set out with clear goals,” Kennedy said told members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and…
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    SALT in Speaker’s Wounds: Budget Bill Threatened by NY Republicans

    House Speaker Mike Johnson is being pressured on multiple fronts in his efforts to pass a budget reconciliation bill by Independence Day.  Not only is he being pressed by fiscal hawks to make deep spending cuts to cover tax breaks, but he’s also being threatened by blue-state Republicans demanding higher tax deductions to offset their…
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    House Budget Bill Includes ‘Most Significant Regulatory Reform Ever,’ Ted Cruz Says

    The House Judiciary Committee advanced its portion of the massive budget bill last week, and the legislation includes a provision that would be the “most significant regulatory reform ever,” according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, which Rep. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,…
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  • news

    Hill GOP Budget Leaders in ‘Lockstep,’ Treasury Chief Bessent Says

    “The House is moving things along quickly, and the Senate is in lockstep,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Monday, in reference to the Republican budget reconciliation bill that is being ushered through Congress.  The message of unity comes after the treasury secretary met with the top four Republican congressional leaders in the budget reconciliation…
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  • news

    $5 Million on Trees, $300K to Trans Farmers: Brooke Rollins Shares Woke Agriculture Department Spending Cuts

    The Department of Agriculture has worked with the Department of Government Efficiency to slash millions in woke spending projects, from a $300,000 contract educating queer and transgender farmers to $5 million to keep trees alive. “Probably the most stunning for me was the $500,000 grant to study transgenderism in mice,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told…
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  • opinion

    A Budget Battle That Could Determine Speaker Johnson’s Future

    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is staking his political future on one daunting task—delivering a budget reconciliation bill that will satisfy both houses of Congress. In order to pass “one big, beautiful bill” to fulfill President Donald Trump's campaign promises, Johnson, R-La., will have to make good on his own commitments to the most…
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  • news

    Johnson Seeks to Quell Conservatives’ Mutiny Against Budget Plan

    Republican leadership in the House has its hands full this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to get about a dozen fiscally conservative Republicans to sign off on the Senate’s budget plan by the end of the week. President Donald Trump has urged the House to “quickly” pass the plan that the Senate approved on…
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    Up in Smoke? House Conservatives Eye Ban on Marijuana in DC Budget Bill

    Conservative members of the House of Representatives are contemplating attempting to ban marijuana in the District of Columbia by amending a funding bill in Congress. The District relies on some federal funding to pay for part of its budget. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are discussing tying the funding to conservative priorities in…
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  • news

    Kari Lake Vows to Slash US Agency for Global Media Budget

    Kari Lake said the Trump administration is putting the United States government on a diet through spending cuts, and that she will contribute by slashing the United States Agency for Global Media budget.  Lake, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of the Voice of America, is currently serving as special adviser to Voice of…
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  • news

    GOP Leadership on Hill Gets Back to Work on Budget Resolution

    Republican congressional leadership has its work cut out for it this week as members return to Washington, working toward a shared budget resolution between the Senate and House of Representatives. Back in February, the House of Representatives succeeded in passing its own budget resolution. In that legislative showdown, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La.,…
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  • news

    Federal Gov’t Agencies Quietly Went on Giant Spending Sprees for Years, Report Finds

    DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—A host of federal government agencies have overseen massive spending for years while greatly expanding their workforces, according to an OpenTheBooks report. Annual spending across multiple federal government agencies has exploded over the past several years, often outpacing growth of staff and even inflation rates, according to a report from OpenTheBooks first obtained by the Daily…
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  • news

    NASA Promoted ‘Gender Affirmation’ and Workplace Diversity During DEI Spending Spree, Report Finds

    DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduced a sweeping number of new diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives under the Biden-Harris administration, a report released Wednesday found. NASA enacted various DEI-related efforts over the past four years, including issuing guidelines to its staff on ways to better support any employees going through “gender…
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  • news

    House OKs Continuing Resolution Funding Government Through End of Fiscal Year

    The House voted 217-213 Tuesday to pass the Republicans’ continuing resolution that would avert a partial government shutdown that was set to begin Friday. The bill will now go to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain. The GOP-backed CR passed the House along party lines with the exception of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who…
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  • news

    EXCLUSIVE: As DOGE Targets Spending, 2 State Attorneys General Groups Seek to Protect Foreign Grants

    FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—As the Department of Government Efficiency continues to flag unusual federal government expenditures, state attorneys general are asking the Trump administration to secure funding for their initiatives in Mexico and Costa Rica meant to train foreign prosecutors.   Seven state attorneys general from both parties signed a letter insisting the programs are…
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  • news

    Rubio Slashes Nearly $60 Billion in Wasteful Spending From State, USAID

    The Trump administration has saved taxpayers nearly $60 billion since it took office just over a month ago by eliminating programs in the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development alone. A senior State Department official told The Daily Signal that “in just a few weeks, [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio has identified…
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  • news

    House Republicans Pass Major Budget Hurdle

    House Republicans passed a budget resolution on a party-line vote of 217-215 Tuesday night, clearing a major hurdle on the way to funding President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only Republican to oppose the bill, as he argued that it did not address the national debt. President…
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  • news

    House Republicans Close in on Budget Agreement

    The House of Representatives is set to vote Tuesday evening on a budget resolution that aims to pass much of President Donald Trump’s agenda. The resolution is set to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, coupled with $300 billion for border and defense spending. It would also raise the federal debt ceiling by $4 trillion. …
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