Schumer vows to restore all funds cut by DOGE if Dems take midterms

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will push to restore federal funding cut under the Department of Government Efficiency and potentially increase spending beyond prior levels, as lawmakers continue negotiations over the 2026 budget.

Schumer made the comments Thursday when asked whether he would work to replenish funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development during a forum hosted by the Center for American Progress.

“If you look at the budget we’re working on right now, we restore most of the cuts. And even go higher than previous years on many of the programs that DOGE slashed,” Schumer said.

“We have worked really hard and gotten bipartisan support to increase these amounts and undo a lot of the cuts which are essential.”

Schumer did not specify which programs he is seeking to supplement, and lawmakers have not yet released final legislative text for the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed a plan that would increase funding for the bill by roughly $5 billion compared to fiscal year 2025 levels, though negotiations with the House remain ongoing.

DOGE, the initiative launched during the Trump administration and overseen by Elon Musk, has been credited by Republicans with identifying large-scale waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies. According to the DOGE website, the group says it has eliminated $215 billion in wasteful spending.

Republicans formally enacted $115 billion of those reductions through legislation passed last year.

Since that bill cleared Congress, no additional rescissions package has advanced. Rescissions bills allow lawmakers to fast-track spending cuts at the request of the president, but leadership has not brought another to the floor.

Republicans say cost-cutting efforts have continued behind the scenes. Rep. Aaron Bean, chairman of the House DOGE Caucus, told Fox News in December that the effort was far from over.

“DOGE is still alive,” Bean said. “We’re going to get it rocking. I think that will come down the road.”

Bean added that recent events, including the government shutdown tied to COVID-era Obamacare tax credits, delayed further action. “The shutdown set everybody back a little bit,” he said.