House subcommittee advances Legislative Branch spending bill [View all]

Source: Roll Call

Posted June 23, 2025 at 9:29pm


House Republicans' proposal to cut nearly half of the Government Accountability Office's budget could result in Congress missing out on billions of dollars of savings, Democrats argued on Monday. The cut is part of the GOP's fiscal 2026 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, which the subcommittee reported favorably on a party-line, 6-4 vote. It now heads to the full committee for a markup on Thursday.

The targeting of GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog that provides auditing and investigative services, is political retribution for an agency that has found President Donald Trump illegally barred the release of appropriated funds, according to Democrats.

"It's astonishing that for all the talk about finding and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, House Republicans would defund the watchdog that is tasked with precisely that role," said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., at Monday's markup. "The only plausible explanation is that the majority, and the administration to which it is exceedingly loyal, is upset that GAO has repeatedly found that the White House is stealing funds away from taxpayers."

The measure would provide $415.4 million for the GAO, which, in addition to slashing its current funding level nearly in half, would be more than $500 million less than what the agency requested. Overall, the $5 billion proposal -- not including Senate-only expenses -- would represent a 5 percent decrease from current spending levels, as Republicans look for savings across the federal government.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/06/23/house-subcommittee-advances-legislative-branch-spending-bill/