The White House wants to send Congress a rescission package — essentially legislation to codify the administration’s DOGE cuts and send the money back to the Treasury — as soon as lawmakers return from their two-week recess. House Republicans are hoping President Donald Trump might hold off for a bit.
With the House expected to begin drafting and marking up reconciliation language as soon as Congress gets back on April 28, there are some concerns that expending political capital on a rescission package now — just as Republicans cash in on all the favors they have — might be unwise.
One GOP member emphasized that if the administration sent the package in the next couple of weeks, it would make it more difficult to pass.
“Trump is running out of political goodwill with members, and if he tries to codify the unpopular cuts and reconciliation at the same time, he might not get either done,” this member told NOTUS.
A second GOP member told NOTUS that the smartest thing to do would be for the administration to lay out what rescissions they want privately as opposed to making a public, formal request. That would allow Republicans to simply put the rescission requests into reconciliation and count the savings toward the final cost of the bill.
That move would also prevent Congress from having to work on two controversial pieces of legislation at the same time and save vulnerable Republicans from yet another tough vote.
The package is expected to request that Congress cancel nearly $10 billion in previously approved spending, including money for public broadcasting (like NPR and PBS) and some foreign aid initiatives.
Once the White House sends over the rescissions request, Congress has 45 days to approve it. Otherwise, Trump must release the money back to its original destination.
Given the timeframe, sending a rescission package now would force Congress to deal with the request just as Republicans are sorting through reconciliation. And House GOP leaders are hoping Trump can be a little flexible on the timing.
Two sources familiar with the matter told NOTUS that House GOP leadership is discussing whether the proposed timeframe for a rescission request makes sense, knowing how difficult reconciliation will be to pass on its own.
“We have had a hard enough time doing one thing at a time this Congress. I’m not sure we are ready to walk and chew gum at the same time,” one senior GOP aide told NOTUS.
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Reese Gorman is a reporter at NOTUS.