AILSA CHANG, HOST:
In the U.S. Constitution, it is Congress which holds the power of the purse, right? But President Trump and Elon Musk are swiftly using executive actions to dismantle federal programs funded and approved by Congress, and Republican lawmakers so far don't appear to be putting up a fight. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh joins us now from the Capitol with more. Hi, Deirdre.
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so what are Republicans saying about Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as it's called?
WALSH: Most GOP lawmakers are cheering it on. I mean, they're saying it's appropriate for the president and his team - in this case, Elon Musk - to use executive authority to review departments across the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson described himself as a fierce advocate of Congress' Article I authority you talked about - to steer where federal money is spent, but he also said this about what's happening now.
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MIKE JOHNSON: The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating.
CHANG: OK, so DOGE is not the only executive action stepping on Congress' authority, right? Like, last week, there was a move by the Trump administration to pause all federal grants, for example. How did that go over with Republican lawmakers?
WALSH: For the most part, Republicans did not push back. You know, even though Republicans I talked to admitted their offices were flooded with calls with concerns about a range of programs - day care programs, assistance for seniors, school lunches. These were all programs that Congress authorized and approved, but very few Republicans publicly objected to the action. A federal court did pause that OMB action, and the agency withdrew its memo. But that episode, combined with what's happening with USAID this week, shows just the wide latitude Republican lawmakers are giving Trump and Musk. Politically, in terms of what's happening with USAID, Republicans felt comfortable that Musk started with that agency. It's an agency they've criticized over the years, and they believe Americans are skeptical about how much federal money is being spent overseas.
CHANG: But, Deirdre, is there any concern that this could be a problem in the long term, meaning, like, the legislative branch ceding its most important power to the president?
WALSH: You know, most Republicans I've asked about this in the last couple of weeks have basically shrugged and said, this is what a new administration does. They say President Trump won with the vow to reshape the federal government. Here's North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, who was pressed about an executive unilaterally moving to shutter USAID.
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THOM TILLIS: I think that that runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense, but clearly you saw Biden do it. It's not uncommon for presidents to flex a little bit on where they can spend and where they can stop spending.
CHANG: OK, but when you talk to Republicans in Congress, do you get this sense that there is a red line that Trump or Musk could cross that might get them to reassert their own power?
WALSH: Right now, it's unclear, but there are some places where you could see some cracks in what's really been a really unified Republican Party in Washington, deferring to Trump. Federal agencies are going to run out of money on March 14. Republicans want to put their own stamp on a spending bill so they can protect programs they've helped get for their constituents - things like transportation money or water projects. It's unclear what Trump or Musk are going to demand in that spending bill, but Musk has already shown, when he inserts himself, he can really influence the process.
CHANG: That is NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thank you, Deirdre.
WALSH: Thanks, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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