发布于 2026年2月12日，美国东部时间凌晨4:00 | CNN
作者：安妮·格雷尔（Annie Grayer）、亚当·坎克林（Adam Cancryn）
在唐纳德·特朗普总统第二任期伊始，以削减预算著称的“政府效率部”（Department of Government Efficiency）曾搅乱联邦政府，如今却在国会山停滞不前。这一现实让保守派议员们怒不可遏。
据两位知情人士透露，在白宫内部，这场以大规模解雇和全面削减资金为标志的削减开支运动在很大程度上被视为已结束，因为特朗普将注意力转向了其他优先事项。在国会山，共和党人仅通过了一项削减90亿美元DOGE相关开支的法案——远未达到埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）提出的从国家预算中削减高达2万亿美元的目标。
如今，特朗普政府官员暗示他们可能不会试图再推动另一项削减更多资金的法案。白宫预算主任拉塞尔·沃特（Russell Vought）上月告诉一位共和党议员，考虑到众议院共和党人席位极其微弱的多数优势以及参议院缺乏兴趣，这几乎是不可能完成的任务。
相反，国会共和党人签署了一项政府资助法案，其中包含了特朗普政府曾主张削减的资金。去年政府停摆期间，特朗普政府试图解雇数千名联邦雇员的计划被法院阻止。特朗普周二表示，他不喜欢DOGE随意缩减联邦劳动力的方式，称自己“不想进行全面削减”。
就连负责接管国会DOGE相关小组委员会的众议员蒂姆·伯切特（Tim Burchett）也承认，由于两党阻力，他面临着一场几乎不可能成功的艰巨斗争。
“他们把我推上去送死，”伯切特在接受CNN采访时谈到众议院共和党领导层为何给他安排这项任务时说，“他们不喜欢我批评他们。”
这位田纳西州议员表示，他准备提出立法，并“公开让阻挠他的议员难堪”，但他坦言，他认为自己的政党并没有意愿进行他想要的那种联邦政府削减。
“你赢不了，但我会继续战斗，因为我认为这是值得的。说实话，我真的这么认为。如果我们不小心处理这些荒谬的事情，40万亿美元的债务会让我们失去国家。什么时候才是尽头？民主党把钱花在‘觉醒’垃圾项目上，而我们却把钱花在不需要的军队上，”他表示。
众议员蒂姆·伯切特在众议院就2月3日重新开放政府的资金法案投票时走进美国国会大厦
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
其他保守派人士也认为，在试图将DOGE缩减联邦政府规模的努力中，他们被自己政党的领导层抛弃了。
领导着另一个DOGE核心小组的众议员亚伦·比恩（Aaron Bean）上个月在一次会议上直接向沃特提问，询问特朗普政府是否有计划提出更多将DOGE削减方案法典化的法案，希望能在国会山推动势头。
然而，比恩称，沃特表示完成第一个方案“非常困难”，并指出了国会中共和党人微弱多数的现实。
“如果完全由我决定，我们每周都会推出一项法案。但这不是我说了算，”这位佛罗里达州议员补充说，沃特并没有完全排除未来可能的行动。
当比恩去年首次召集他的小组时，他组建了不同的工作组，并承诺定期提出立法。然而，他记不起2025年他们小组最后一次开会是什么时候了，他一直在推动众议院共和党领导层将DOGE核心小组在其政党议程中置于更突出的位置。
美国管理和预算办公室（OMB）发言人在回应CNN的提问时表示：“我们对过去一年在削减开支和改革拨款流程方面取得的进展感到兴奋——并且我们不会排除未来采取任何手段。”
然而，在中期选举前几个月，推动另一项有争议的削减方案在国会获得通过的势头似乎微弱。受去年年底在明尼苏达州提升对医疗补助欺诈指控的成功鼓舞，特朗普政府官员转而将重点放在针对不同蓝州项目的更精确削减上。
近几个月来，政府试图削减数亿美元给予民主党领导州的拨款，称这些资金被浪费或管理不善——这种策略被认为更高效且在政治上更有利，且需要共和党国会几乎不稳固的多数席位进行更少的直接干预。
“DOGE的成功在于将特朗普联盟的注意力转向欺诈指控，”一位知情人士表示，“我们必须认识到，可能偏离目标所带来的积极后果。”
尽管如此，这仍未能缓解保守派的不满。他们曾一度将特朗普重返白宫视为大规模削减联邦政府的最佳机会。
与众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（Mike Johnson）在2025年6月承诺的“多个”削减方案不同，许多保守派现在认为，他们自己的政党领导层通过通过资助DOGE之前认定有问题并希望削减的项目的政府支出法案，削弱了削减开支的努力。
“领导层不在乎，因为他们有民主党人投票通过法案。他们根本不关注保守派，”众议员格雷格·斯蒂布（Greg Steube）表示，他是上月投票反对最新政府资助协议的21名共和党议员之一。
以财政保守派著称、经常批评自己政党的众议员托马斯·梅西（Thomas Massie）自称“唯一仍支持DOGE的国会议员”，并表示他对党内支持该努力的减少并不感到惊讶。
“我一开始就不相信他们是真心实意的，”他说。
约翰逊告诉CNN，DOGE“没有消亡”，但他没有详细说明。参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（John Thune）的发言人拒绝就此事置评。
众议员亚伦·比恩在2024年5月8日于华盛顿特区雷伯恩众议院办公楼与工作人员交谈
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
“我们没有看到那种混乱和争议，谢天谢地”
特朗普政府官员承认，DOGE不再作为一个“集中化”组织运作。尽管共和党议员会声称他们一直在寻求削减过剩、欺诈和滥用行为，但许多温和派共和党人正暗自庆幸马斯克的任期已结束，因为他们试图修复与在这位亿万富翁任内感到被妖魔化的联邦雇员的关系。
“一年前，你会看到来自各种地方的年轻人进入联邦机构，告诉人们你被解雇了。现在我们没有看到那种程度的混乱和争议，谢天谢地，”阿拉斯加州共和党参议员莉萨·穆尔科斯基（Lisa Murkowski）告诉CNN，“我们现在处于不同的位置。”
代表其选区1万名联邦雇员、也是美国最大的社会保障管理局呼叫中心之一的众议员罗布·布雷纳汉（Rob Bresnahan）表示，他支持根除多余的联邦开支，但赞赏该努力在马斯克离职后已发生转变。他回忆起与选民多次讨论他们对隐私和数据的担忧。
“看到员工士气受到的影响当然令人沮丧。而他们的担忧也确实没有被忽视，”布雷纳汉说。
现在，一些温和派共和党人认为需要找到方法恢复与联邦雇员的信任，并撤销特朗普政府的某些行动。布雷纳汉就是去年少数几位在众议院投票中违抗自己政党领导层和特朗普政府，恢复联邦雇员集体谈判权的共和党人之一。
众议院议长迈克·约翰逊2月10日在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
但即使削减努力现在不那么公开，拨款委员们表示，削减过剩开支正在幕后以及通过拨款流程切实进行，这一直是其预期目标。
佛罗里达州众议员马里奥·迪亚兹-巴拉特（Mario Diaz-Balart）领导着监督国务院资金的众议院拨款小组委员会，他表示，他已与OMB密切合作，实现了2026财年16%的支出削减。
“你可以做任何你想做的削减，但然后你会遇到不同的总统、不同的政府，一切都白费了，这就是为什么与我们合作，我们能够将这些削减纳入拨款法案，”迪亚兹-巴拉特告诉CNN。
众议院拨款委员会主席汤姆·科尔（Tom Cole）表示，他会考虑DOGE的建议，但必须考虑哪些方案能在参众两院通过。
“我们现在实施的特朗普预算比一年前多得多，”科尔告诉CNN，“我们有很多好想法，有些我们喜欢，有些虽然喜欢但不一定能通过。这仍然是一个两党、两院共同参与的过程。”
与此同时，与比恩共同领导DOGE核心小组的得克萨斯州众议员皮特·塞申斯（Pete Sessions）表示，他现在认为自己的角色是为DOGE工作人员提供他们想要削减的项目的背景信息，以帮助他们做出决策。
“很多工作都是幕后讨论，”塞申斯说。
众议员蒂姆·伯切特7月3日在华盛顿特区国会山接受媒体采访
Nathan Howard/Reuters/File
一些共和党人表示，DOGE失去动力的部分原因是该组织并非为在马斯克的“大喇叭”效应之外长期存在而设计。
“我一直担心的是，他们从未真正搭建起让这一过程可重复、可衡量的‘脚手架’，”北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis）说。
蒂利斯称马斯克“是一个伟大的催化剂，但如果没有后续跟进，你就会看到所有的失误和低效”。
在伯切特看来，他的政党从未完全接受马斯克目标的部分原因是其自身的“傲慢”——认为他们能比作为局外人进入政府的亿万富翁执行得更好。
“每个人都只想保住权力，”伯切特告诉CNN，“这种傲慢是他们想保住权力，并且认为没有他们这个计划就无法实施。但事实是，没有他们，计划反而会更顺利。”
伯切特从之前的共和党众议员玛乔丽·泰勒·格林（Marjorie Taylor Greene）手中接管了DOGE小组委员会，并原定于周三举行自2025年9月以来的首次听证会，但他在社交平台X上表示听证会因“疾病”推迟，将尽快重新安排。
一位要求匿名以畅所欲言的共和党议员哀叹，马斯克的激进方法甚至让削减联邦开支的运动倒退了。
“在某些方面，我为DOGE未能更成功而感到遗憾。我对埃隆有点生气。我们正走向破产。显然，更高效的政府是解决方案的一部分。但埃隆的方法不够严肃，无法取得我们需要的进展。这真的很不幸。我认为它在寻求效率的道路上倒退了相当长一段距离，”这位议员表示。
‘They put me on there to die’: Conservatives unload on GOP’s failures to carry out DOGE cost-cutting
Published Feb 12, 2026, 4:00 AM ET | CNN
By Annie Grayer, Adam Cancryn
The budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency that upended the federal government at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term has stalled out on Capitol Hill, a reality that’s left conservative lawmakers fuming.
Inside the White House, the cost-cutting crusade marked by mass firings and blanket funding eliminations is largely seen as over, two people familiar with the discussions said, as Trump turns his attention to other priorities. On Capitol Hill, Republicans have passed just a single bill enacting $9 billion in DOGE cuts – far short of Elon Musk’s aim of cutting as much as $2 trillion from the nation’s budget.
And now, Trump officials are signaling they likely will not try to pass another package clawing back more funds, with White House budget director Russell Vought telling one GOP lawmaker last month that it amounted to a long-shot given the razor-thin Republican majority in the House and a lack of appetite in the Senate.
Instead, congressional Republicans signed off on a government funding package that included money the Trump administration had advocated eliminating. A White House attempt to lay off thousands of federal workers during last year’s shutdown was halted by the courts. And Trump said Tuesday that he did not like the haphazard way DOGE downsized the federal workforce, saying he “didn’t want a general cut.”
Even Rep. Tim Burchett, who is taking over as the leader of the congressional subcommittee focused on DOGE, knows he is facing an uphill battle that is unlikely to be successful as a result of resistance on both sides of the aisle.
“They put me on there to die,” Burchett told CNN of why he thinks House GOP leadership gave him this assignment. “They don’t like that I call them out.”
The Tennessee congressman says he is ready to introduce legislation and “publicly embarrass” lawmakers who stand in his way, but he openly admits he doesn’t think his party has the appetite for the kinds of cuts to the federal government he wants to make.
“You can’t win but I’m going to fight it because I think it is worth it. I honestly do. I think we will lose our country if we’re not careful with all this nonsense, $40 trillion in debt. When does it stop? Democrats spend it on woke garbage and we spend it on a military that we don’t need,” he said.
Rep. Tim Burchett walks into the U.S. Capitol as the House votes on a funding bill to reopen the government on February 3, in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Other conservatives also feel abandoned by their party’s leadership in their efforts to find ways to codify DOGE’s downsizing of the federal government.
Rep. Aaron Bean, who leads a separate DOGE caucus, asked Vought directly in a meeting last month if the Trump administration had plans to send any more bills that would codify DOGE cuts, hoping his answer could spur momentum on Capitol Hill.
Instead, Vought said it was “very difficult” to get the first package done and pointed to the realities of the narrow Republican majorities in Congress, according to Bean.
“If it were totally up to me, we’d be doing one every week. But it’s not up to me,” the Florida congressman said, adding that Vought didn’t firmly rule anything out.
When Bean first convened his group last year, he set up different working groups with the promise to introduce legislation regularly. Now, he can’t remember the last time his group met in 2025 and has been pushing House GOP leadership to make the DOGE caucus more front and center in his party’s agenda.
An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson said in response to questions from CNN, “We’re excited with the progress we’ve made on cutting spending and reforming the appropriations process over the past year – and we’re not taking any tools off the table going forward.”
Yet there appears to be little momentum for pushing another controversial package of cuts through Congress just months ahead of midterm elections. Encouraged by their success late last year in elevating allegations of Medicaid fraud in Minnesota, Trump administration officials have shifted their focus instead to more precise cuts targeting programs in various blue states.
The administration in recent months has sought to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to Democratic-led states they’ve claimed are being wasted or mismanaged — a strategy viewed as more efficient and politically advantageous, and that requires less direct intervention from a Republican Congress barely hanging onto its majority.
“The success of DOGE is in turning the Trump coalition toward fraud,” said one of the people familiar with the discussions. “We have to understand the positive consequences that came from maybe missing the mark.”
Still, that’s done little to assuage conservatives who once saw Trump’s return to office as their best chance of slashing vast swathes of the federal government for good.
Instead of the “multiple” rescissions packages that House Speaker Mike Johnson promised in June 2025, many conservatives now feel that their own party leadership is undercutting cost-cutting efforts by passing government spending bills that fund programs DOGE previously identified as problematic and wanted to defund.
“Leadership doesn’t care because they have Democrats to vote on the bill to pass them. They’re not paying attention to conservatives,” Rep. Greg Steube, one of the 21 House Republicans to vote against the latest government funding deal, told CNN.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a fiscal conservative who often speaks out against his own party, coined himself “the only DOGE-voting congressman left” and said he wasn’t surprised that support for the effort has dwindled in his party.
“I never really believed they were sincere to start with,” he said.
Johnson told CNN “no” DOGE is not dead, but he did not elaborate. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to comment for this story.
Rep. Aaron Bean speaks with his staff in the Rayburn House Office Building on May 8, 2024, in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
‘We’re not seeing that level of chaos and controversy. Thank goodness’
Trump administration officials have acknowledged that DOGE is no longer operating as a “centralized” organization. And while GOP lawmakers will say they are always looking to cut excess waste, fraud and abuse, many moderate Republicans are quietly celebrating that Musk’s tenure is behind them as they try to repair relationships with federal workers who felt demonized under the billionaire’s tenure.
“A year ago, you had young people from gosh knows where coming into federal agencies and telling people you’re gone. We’re not seeing that level of chaos and controversy. Thank goodness,” GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told CNN. “We are at a different place.”
Rep. Rob Bresnahan said he supports eradicating excess federal spending, but has appreciated how the effort has shifted since Musk’s departure. Representing 10,000 federal workers in his district and one of the largest Social Security Administration call centers in the country, Bresnahan recalled multiple conversations with his constituents about their fears over their privacy and data.
“Seeing the impacts of the morale with the workforce there was certainly frustrating. And their concerns certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears,” Bresnahan said.
Now, some moderate Republicans feel like they need to find ways to restore trust with federal workers and undo actions by the Trump administration. Bresnahan was one of a handful of Republicans who defied his own party leadership and the Trump administration in a House vote last year to reinstate collective bargaining rights for federal workers.
House Speaker Mike Johnson at the US Capitol on February 10, in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
But even if the effort is now less overt, appropriators argue that cuts to excess spending are happening in earnest behind the scenes and through the appropriations process, as it was always intended.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees State Department funding, said he has worked closely with OMB to implement a 16% reduction in fiscal year 2026 spending.
“You can do all the rescissions you want, but then you have a different president, different administration and that’s all for nothing, which is why, working with us, we’ve been able to kind of get those into the appropriation bills,” Diaz-Balart told CNN.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he takes DOGE recommendations into account but has to consider what can pass both chambers.
“We have a lot more of the Trump budget in place than we had a year ago,” Cole told CNN. “We got a lot of good ideas out there. Some of them we liked, others we liked but weren’t necessarily things that we could pass. It’s still a bipartisan, bicameral process.”
Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, who co-leads the DOGE caucus with Bean, meanwhile, says he now views his role as giving DOGE staffers context for the programs that they want to cut to help inform their decisions.
“A lot of it is behind the scenes discussion,” Sessions said.
Rep. Tim Burchett speaks to members of the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 3, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters/File
Part of the reason some Republicans say DOGE lost its momentum is that the organization was not built to last beyond Musk’s megaphone.
“I’ve always been concerned with the fact that they never really put down scaffolding to make it a repeatable measurable process,” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said.
Tillis called Musk “a great catalyst but unless you have the follow up, you see all the missteps, you see the inefficiency.”
As Burchett sees it, part of the reason his party could never fully accept Musk’s goals was his own party’s “arrogance” that they could execute better than the billionaire who came in as an outsider to government.
“Everybody just wants to stay in power,” Burchett told CNN. “The arrogance of this is they want to stay in power and they think that without them this will not work. And the truth is, it works in spite of them.”
Burchett, who took over the DOGE subcommittee from former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, had been set to hold the subcommittee’s first hearing since September 2025 on Wednesday, but said on X that it was postponed “due to illness,” and would be rescheduled as soon as possible.
One GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, lamented that Musk’s aggressive approach even set the movement to cut federal spending back.
“In some respects, I’m sad that DOGE wasn’t more successful. I’m a little irritated at Elon. We are driving towards bankruptcy. Clearly a more efficient government is part of the solution. But Elon’s approach was just not serious enough to get us the progress we need. It’s really unfortunate. I think it sets us back on the search for efficiency seeking quite a way,” the lawmaker said.