House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House is prepared to take legislative action based on the cost-cutting findings uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative overseen by tech mogul Elon Musk.
The Louisiana Republican pointed to several alarming examples of waste, fraud, and abuse identified by DOGE—most notably, the revelation that USAID had been allocating funds tied to over 12 million Social Security recipients listed as being more than 120 years old.
“The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand,” Johnson wrote on social media.
Johnson stated that the House will move swiftly to pass legislation codifying the DOGE cuts as soon as the White House submits its rescissions package. He said the savings will be folded into the upcoming appropriations bill to implement President Trump’s 2026 budget.
“DOGE found savings in discretionary spending (such as funding agencies), while our One Big Beautiful Bill secured over $1.6 trillion in savings in mandatory spending (such as Medicaid),” Johnson said. “Both are historic and take huge steps toward addressing our debt and deficit.”
According to Politico, the rescissions packages headed for a House vote represent only a small portion of the broader DOGE cuts, primarily targeting NPR, PBS, and various foreign aid agencies.
The push follows sharp criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who accused Congress of betraying voters by not backing DOGE’s mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending.
“@elonmusk took massive incoming — including attacks on his companies as well as personal smears — to lead the effort on @DOGE,” DeSantis wrote on X. “He became public enemy #1 of legacy media around the world. To see Republicans in Congress cast aside any meaningful spending reductions (and, in fact, fully fund things like USAID) is demoralizing and represents a betrayal of the voters who elected them.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has also been critical of the “big, beautiful bill” and Congress’ failure to address the deficit.
“I’m very disappointed — not only in the White House, but disappointed in Congress,” Paul said to Politico. “If Congress can’t cut $9 billion, I think most of them should resign and go home.”
