Will Republicans Stand Strong in Support of President Trump?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the role of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in supporting the President’s agenda. When President Donald Trump was inaugurated, he put Elon Musk in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to root out waste and fraud in the government. Much waste and fraud has been uncovered, but Democrats are fighting against DOGE every step of the way.

According to George Caldwell at The Daily Signal, some Democrats, such as Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, are fighting cutting waste and fraud by not doing their job. Murray “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.” Republicans are standing behind Trump. 

More than 20 Republican members of the House and Senate sent a letter [last] 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….

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, R-Fla., a chief advocate of the letter, told The Daily Signal in a statement, “Republicans must work together to stop Democrats’ efforts to obstruct and undermine President Trump’s agenda, and ensure the President can continue to deliver 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….

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