As Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn budget cuts hit Republican and Democratic areas alike, some GOP lawmakers are privately back-channeling with the Trump administration to try to shield their constituents from the fallout.
Why it matters: Republicans have largely cheered on DOGE in public — but behind the scenes, many of President Trump’s allies fear potential political backlash to the cuts, and are scrambling to limit the damage.
- Of the 60 congressional districts with the most federal workers, a slight majority are represented by Republicans, Axios previously reported.
What we’re hearing: Several House Republicans told Axios they have succeeded in — or at least contributed to — getting DOGE to reverse certain cuts through private back-channeling.
- Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) said he raised concerns about job cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration: “Whether it was my remarks back to DOGE or somebody else’s, it got fixed. They … hired back 30 people.”
- Said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa): “When we have heard from constituents who have been directly impacted by this in a way that harmed them, I have reached out directly to the agencies and teams.”
- Nunn cited Agriculture Department cuts that “could … have impacted farmers” in his district, telling Axios he “talked to the administration on it, they recognized it, they heard it, and we got those positions reinstated.”
State of play: Musk’s DOGE has implemented abrupt, sweeping changes across the federal government through mass workforce purges and the dismantling of entire programs and agencies.
- The moves have drawn significant legal pushback, but Musk wants DOGE to continue to grow, saying Monday on Fox Business’ “Kudlow” show that he aims to roughly double DOGE’s size.
- GOP lawmakers also have faced backlash at town halls in their districts over the DOGE cuts, prompting House Republicans’ campaign chief to encourage a shift from in-person to virtual town halls.
Zoom out: Other Republicans have gone public with their concerns. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said in a local media interview that Tinker Air Force Base in his state “cannot operate if we lose 600 civilian employees there.”
- He also decried cuts to another Oklahoma military installation, McAlester Ammunition Plant: “We will not be able to keep aircraft in the air long-term for the Air Force. That is really important for us to be able to have.”
- Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) this week praised DOGE for reversing cuts to his district: “After working closely with DOGE and the administration, I am thrilled to announce that common sense has prevailed.”
The other side: Democratic lawmakers — many of whom have been vehemently opposed to the DOGE cuts — complain that they lack the same pipeline to voice their concerns that their Republican counterparts enjoy.
- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios: “I have not heard of any Democrats getting that kind of treatment. I think Tom Cole, obviously, has better connections with the oligarchs than we do.”
- “I’m trying to help people, but so far I’ve not come with any back channel to Donald Trump,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), whose district in the D.C. suburbs has one of the largest concentrations of federal workers.
The bottom line: “That is no way to run a government,” Huffman said. “That is, sort of, the ultimate partisan crony capitalism … but apparently that’s what we’ve come to these days.”
Go deeper: Musk plans to double DOGE staff amid federal government cuts