Rand Paul Aims to Make What DOGE is Doing Permanent

Stopping payments is one thing. Putting a full stop to the spending is another. #14

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Semafor’s Burgess Everett reported on Wednesday that “Sen. Rand Paul says he told VP Vance to put DOGE cuts into a recissions package and send it to Congress to vote on it.

“It’s not real until we vote on it” Paul reportedly said.

Sen. Paul makes a good point.

It is Congress that ultimately controls spending.

Former Republican and Libertarian Congressman Justin Amash doubled down on Paul’s point.

“Rand Paul is right,” Amash wrote. “DOGE may be stopping certain payments, but only Congress can actually cut spending.”

“Use this moment to change the culture on Capitol Hill. Press them to pass legislation that implements these cuts and more,” he added. “That’s the only way to get lasting fiscal reforms.”

What’s a Rescission Package?

Like Paul, Amash definitely has a point about the need to get Congress involved.

Paul has been praising the Trump administration and DOGE’s valiant efforts to seriously cut spending.

Paul reportedly asked Vice President JD Vance in a meeting of senators on Wednesday to have the administration come up with a rescission package.

This is a unique bill that would formally - through Congress, through a congressional vote - that would end unauthorized spending.

DOGE is making cuts primarily by stopping payments.

A rescission package could make this permanent.

The Bipartisan Policy Center describes it as follows: “A rescission is a request to rescind funds that were previously appropriated by Congress. If Congress approves the president’s rescission proposal, it would mean that particular appropriation would no longer be available to the agency to spend.”

“This budget tool is not regularly used by a president, the last time was by the Clinton administration,” the center notes.

That was around the time when President Clinton said in his 1996 State of the Union address that “the era of big government is over.”

Well, it wasn’t.

How much support there might be to pass a rescission package - even among many Republicans - is a separate but obviously related question. This unfortunate trend was reported by Politico on Tuesday.

Even so, there were Republicans who originally said they would not vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard or Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for their respective posts in the Trump administration who eventually changed their minds for whatever reason.

Maybe some Republican minds can be changed again.

So they all can get on the same page when it comes to voting for spending cuts. It needs to happen.

Regardless, Paul said he wants to see a package with a big number.

"I'd love to see a $500 billion rescission package," Paul told Reason. "The Republicans right now in the Senate are actually agitating to increase spending. I'd much rather be voting on a bill to reduce spending than increase spending."

Paul heavily praised DOGE and its efforts in his interview with Reason, "We've been pointing this out for a decade, but now we finally have an administration that's interested in it—they are canceling contracts, locking doors, firing people. There really is this disrupting force, and that's good.”

But still concluded…

"If we want to have real savings, they're going to have to send this back to Congress, and Congress is going to have to approve of spending less money.”

He’s right.

Hopefully what the president and Elon Musk are currently doing with DOGE can inspire congressional Republicans to get this done while they still can.

BONUS: Rand Paul also recently expressed his support for Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Rand Paul voices his support for Trump’s peace-making stance on Ukraine..

“A few people may have noticed that I resisted an enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump during the election.

But now, I’m amazed by the Trump cabinet (many of whom I would have picked).

I love his message to the Ukrainian warmongers, and along with his DOGE initiative shows I was wrong to withhold my endorsement.

So today, admittedly a little tardy, I give Donald Trump my enthusiastic endorsement!

(Too little too late some will say, but, you know, it is sincere, there is that.)

Don’t expect this endorsement to be fawning.

I still think tariffs are a terrible idea, but Dios Mio, what courage, what tenacity.

Go Donald Trump Go!”

[Trump's related post is below]