Republicans’ government spending bill gives Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “blanket authority” over the department’s fund, specifically allowing him to pick and choose the programs he’ll spend on.
Hegseth would just have to submit his proposed changes to the lawmakers 30 days before shifting the funds, according to the continuing resolution text.
“It’s historic,” Rep. Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told NOTUS of the continuing resolution, which is expected to pass the Senate with some Democratic support Friday. “Usually the appropriators will not go along with that kind of authority and they gave blanket authority.”
As the Department of Government Efficiency sweeps through federal agencies, cutting contracts and staff — moves the Trump administration is now defending in court — Congress is explicitly ceding the power of the purse in the immediate term to the Pentagon.
“I think it’s going to be a good experiment to see if the department uses it responsibly,” Rogers said of the change. “But also, does what they promise, and that is, it keeps the appropriators informed before they do anything.”
The continuing resolution lacks the primary requirements for funding within the department, instead pointing to resolutions Congress has yet to pass as a guide.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the department “transfers and reprograms funds throughout the fiscal year,” but usually with much more specific guidance. Because Congress did not pass individual appropriations bills this year, lawmakers included a carveout for Hegseth in the continuing resolution.
The bill allows Hegseth to start, stop and transfer funds across the agency, as long as they are to programs the House and Senate have authorized — in effect doing the job of defense appropriators in Congress.
Hegseth was thrilled to hear about this provision, per sources who were privy to his conversations with Republican senators during a lunch meeting Wednesday. According to multiple sources at the lunch, Hegseth was unhappy with the budget he would be given to work with, as stopgap spending measures usually limit agencies to go beyond previously allotted funds. But the carveout in the CR, which would allow Hegseth to move money around, assuaged his concerns.
Democrats, meanwhile, say this “experimentation” with how appropriations work could end up just being a legal cover for DOGE’s cuts.
“The whole approach so far has been to disregard the law and cancel things and stop things, et cetera, and this is an opportunity they’re probably using to give them some legal cover,” Sen. Jack Reed said. “He can be totally capricious and cut things out and add things, but that’s what Musk is doing now.”
Hegseth has already started a full review of spending at his department to “determine where we might achieve efficiencies to save American taxpayers’ money while executing contracting operations.”
Republicans are calling the shift in power a “Band-Aid” until Congress can pass appropriations bills. Though that won’t be for a while. The CR funds the government through the end of the fiscal year.
“Normally you would have that in the appropriations bill to connect with the authorization,” Sen. Mike Rounds said. “But because it’s a continuing resolution, it’s got to be done by anomaly.”
Even with new broad authority, Sen. Lindsey Graham said he would like to see additional defense spending in the reconciliation bill Republicans are currently working on.
“The only reason that I’m voting for this piece of crap is because I was promised, and the secretary of defense agrees, that the reconciliation piece needs to happen,” Graham said. “We’ll make up for the shortfalls. In ’26, we’re not going to do this.”
“He was crystal clear. Without the reconciliation money, this is a disaster for him,” Graham said of Hegseth. “It helps a little bit, but it’s no substitute for the limited funding. It helps some, but just on the margins.”
Democrats meanwhile see the power shift as much more detrimental. Rep. Adam Smith said Congress is ceding yet another check between branches of government to the executive.
“It’s a compromise to sort of pull over the Republicans on this and to get them to vote for something they swore up and down they wouldn’t vote for,” Smith said. “I think they sold out too cheap.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, isn’t sweating the change.
“I think we’ll be able to live through it,” he said.
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.