The return of earmarks to the annual appropriations bills has sparked a battle among Republicans on Capitol Hill, pitting fiscal hawks against members of the Appropriations Committees and their allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a serious battle and one that could scuttle the chances of passing appropriations bills ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republican responsibility for the huge federal deficit has become a hot political issue after President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to add $3.4 trillion to the debt over the next decade, into law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservatives are deeply disappointed that Trump\u2019s bill did not make deeper cuts to federal spending, and they want to make a statement with significant reductions in the annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the frustrations of fiscal hawks, those bills are already loaded with earmarks directing the Trump administration how to spend funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservatives view the return of earmarks as a return to the days of pork-barrel spending and a bad look for Republicans when the party is taking fire from Democrats for exploding future deficits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Mike Lee\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Utah), a leading conservative, argued earmarks are still prohibited by Senate Republican conference rules, even though some members of the conference choose not to follow them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s still prohibited by conference policy, and I think we need to stick to that,\u201d Lee told The Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lee said the proliferation of earmarks in the spending bills are \u201cincompatible with our approach as Republicans, and it\u2019s also incompatible with having $37 trillion in debt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some conservatives are pushing for Congress to pass a yearlong stopgap spending measure that would freeze federal funding levels as a strategy to keep spending in check and the next wave of earmarks in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate Republicans voted for a \u201cpermanent ban\u201d on earmarks in May 2019, when the proposal passed by a 28-12 vote after a heated debate behind closed doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But earmarks have since made a big comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The House, then controlled by Democrats, voted in March 2021 to reverse an internal ban on earmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate Republicans, who were in the minority at the time, decided in April 2021 to stick with their conference pro forma ban on earmarks but left open a big loophole by allowing individual GOP senators to request money for home-state projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That decision still rankles some Republicans, years later. They believe they\u2019re in a position to change the rising tide of earmarks now that their party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Ron Johnson\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Wis.) called the earmarks buried in the spending bills \u201coffensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is offensive that I don\u2019t know what they are yet,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m asking my staff, and we don\u2019t have the specifics on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s the problem. This stuff is all secret until you\u2019re ready to vote on it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnson has a proposal that would automatically rescind earmarks if lawmakers \u201cbrag\u201d about the millions of dollars in federal funding they\u2019re steering to projects back home in any kind of political context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under his proposal, \u201cthe only time members can talk about the earmarks, their congressionally directed spending, is as part of official Senate business \u2014 a hearing, a subcommittee hearing and on the floor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey can\u2019t then go out and brag about it in the media. \u2026 If they do that, if they issue a press release, if they put it in a campaign ad, that spending gets automatically rescinded,\u201d Johnson explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twenty-one Republican senators voted for Johnson\u2019s amendment when he offered it to the appropriations bill funding military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, a bill that was expanded to fund the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Idaho) and Sens. Ted Cruz\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Texas), Steve Daines\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Mont.), Joni Ernst\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Iowa), Josh Hawley\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Mo.), Bernie Moreno\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Ohio), Rand Paul\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Ky.) and Lee were among the Republicans who voted for Johnson\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n