Elon Musk, who has been at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), met with Senate Republicans in a closed-door lunch meeting on Wednesday to address growing concerns over the sweeping budget cuts his department has been implementing. The meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, was an attempt to reassure Republican lawmakers amid heightened voter anxiety about the impact of these cuts. Musk and the senators discussed a potential “rescission” package that the White House could send to Congress, aimed at codifying the cuts through a legislative process that bypasses the 60-vote hurdle in the Senate. This approach is designed to avoid legal challenges and ensure that the cuts can be made permanent without running into the same bureaucratic and constitutional obstacles that have plagued Musk’s efforts so far.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who attended the meeting, emphasized the importance of moving away from the controversial “impoundment” tactic—where the executive branch unilaterally withholds funds appropriated by Congress—and instead working through Congress to pass a rescission package. “To me, it’s ephemeral now. I love all the stuff they’re doing, but we got to vote on it,” Paul told reporters. “So, my message to Elon was let’s get over the impoundment idea, and let’s send it back as a rescission package. Because then what we have to do is lobby to get to 51 senators or 50 senators to cut the spending.” Paul’s comments reflect a broader sentiment among Republicans that while they support the goals of reducing government spending and improving efficiency, they need to ensure that any major changes are made through the proper legislative channels to avoid political backlash and legal challenges.
Several senators who attended the meeting noted that Musk seemed surprised to learn that there was a viable legislative pathway to making his cuts permanent. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina described Musk as “so happy” when he heard about the rescission package idea, even going so far as to pump his fists and dance in celebration. Graham, who has been a strong supporter of Musk’s efforts, said, “It’s time for the White House now to go on offense. We’re losing altitude. You know, we started off straight good. We need to get back in the game on offense. And the way you can regain altitude is to take the work product, get away from the personalities and the drama, take the work product and vote on it.” Graham’s remarks suggest that there is a growing recognition within the Republican caucus that the administration needs to shift its strategy and work more closely with Congress to achieve its goals.
The meeting was organized by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who has been a key figure in the negotiations to keep the government open and avoid a shutdown when the current funding bill expires on March 14. Democrats have been critical of the White House’s approach, accusing it of overstepping its authority by unilaterally slashing spending that was explicitly directed by Congress. Hours before the meeting with Senate Republicans, the Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s request to freeze billions of dollars in foreign aid, further complicating the legal landscape for Musk’s efforts. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who also attended the meeting, said that while there were “a lot of numbers tossed around,” Musk did not provide a specific dollar figure for how much he expects DOGE to save or how much money would be cut in a potential rescission package sent to Congress.
Despite the lack of specific numbers, the meeting seemed to have a positive impact on the Republican senators in attendance. Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota noted that Musk fielded a wide range of questions from the senators and even went so far as to give them his personal cellphone number. Hoeven said, “All we hear is about the savings or the cutting. They don’t hear about him wanting to make people more productive, systems more productive, and have them in jobs where they actually do better, and give better service. And that’s the part people don’t hear about.” Hoeven also suggested that Musk should consider reaching out to Democratic senators as well, saying, “Yeah, might be worth a try.” Musk later met with House Republicans at the Capitol on Wednesday evening, where he reportedly told lawmakers that his message was related to the “opportunity to improve expenditures in the government.”
The White House has been stepping up its outreach to Congress in recent days, with Trump meeting with a group of conservative lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday afternoon and the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought joining the weekly House Freedom Caucus meeting on Monday to sell members on a yearlong continuing resolution. Trump has been urging Republicans to pass a continuing resolution through September, writing on Truth Social, “Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year, and allowing us to continue our work to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. VERY IMPORTANT — Let’s get this Bill done!” However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been pushing for a more cautious approach, arguing that conservatives need more time to tally up all the cuts and ensure that they are implemented in a way that aligns with their priorities.
Despite these efforts, the path forward remains uncertain. The Republican majority in the House is slim, with only a 218-214 edge, meaning that they can afford to lose only one vote to pass a bill without Democratic support. This has led to concerns among GOP leaders that they may not have enough votes to pass a yearlong stopgap spending bill, especially given the opposition from some conservative lawmakers. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, for example, has already come out strongly against the idea of a continuing resolution, saying, “I’ll vote against a clean CR that funds everything in 2025 at 2024 levels.” With the clock ticking down to the March 14 deadline, the stakes are high, and the outcome of these negotiations will have significant implications for the future of government spending and the success of Musk’s efforts to streamline federal operations.
