Forgoing Oversight, Republicans Resort to Personal Appeals to Head Off DOGE Cuts

Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, learned that his district might lose a Social Security Administration field office and the National Weather Center’s primary storm prediction hub the same way many other Americans did: through a public webpage the Department of Government Efficiency calls its “wall of receipts.”

Mr. Cole, the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee that controls federal spending, quickly swung into action to try to head off the cuts. He and his aides started dialing their staff contacts at DOGE, the White House and the federal agencies in charge of the facilities on the chopping block, which also included a field office for the Indian Health Service.

Within days, a DOGE staff member had reassured Mr. Cole that the three buildings had been removed from the lease cancellation list. Mr. Cole took to social media to boast of his success, proclaiming that he was “so proud” to have advocated for his constituents and protected facilities that provide them with “vital and valuable services.”

Republicans who control Congress have made little official effort to challenge or scrutinize the actions of President Trump and Elon Musk as they move forward with a swift and aggressive bid to slash government, trampling on the legislative branch’s spending authority in the process. But when it comes to cuts that affect their districts and states, some have stepped up their attempts to push back privately, even as they publicly cheer the broader drive to overhaul what they call a “bloated” bureaucracy.

The trend underscores a distinct shift in how Congress is operating in Mr. Trump’s second term. Because Republican lawmakers have largely ceded their power to the executive branch, effectively giving up their institutional ability to rein in the president, they are instead relying on individual relationships to insulate themselves and their constituents from the adverse impact of his actions.

That, in turn, has exposed a partisan imbalance. Republicans — who have been invited to meet privately with Mr. Musk, have received his cellphone number and maintain close relationships within the administration — can more easily influence which government employees and programs are spared from Mr. Trump’s ax. Democrats have resorted to holding “shadow hearings,” sending strongly worded letters that largely go unanswered and blasting the administration in news releases.

It is yet another way in which the Republican governing trifecta, with Mr. Trump in the White House and his allies in control of both chambers of Congress, has turned Washington upside-down.

Congressional Republicans have so far declined to hold traditional oversight hearings on the government overhaul where lawmakers could question administration officials about their actions and extract public commitments to protect certain programs. Instead, G.O.P. lawmakers have sent carefully worded letters to agency heads and privately lobbied their personal connections within the White House to make piecemeal carveouts for their preferred projects and programs.

An aide for Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said the senator planned to hold a series of subcommittee hearings in the coming weeks, after Mr. Trump released his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, so lawmakers could question administration officials on their requests for funding and staffing cuts.

A few days after receiving assurances that the buildings in his district were safe, Mr. Cole sat down one on one with Mr. Musk for drinks and cigars and suggested that the billionaire might consider consulting members of Congress before cutting programs or funding in their districts.

“He said, ‘Look, we make mistakes,’” Mr. Cole said of Mr. Musk. “‘If we’ve made a mistake, we’ll fix it. Just let us know.’ And I found him good to his word.”

Democrats warn that such an approach only erodes Congress’s power and will ultimately hurt Americans, even those whose representatives in Washington have the ear of the administration.

“Our constituents elected us to be their voice in Congress, not their voice on the phone with Elon Musk,” Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said recently in a speech on the Senate floor. “Just because you are a Republican and have an in with Elon’s DOGE squad, don’t think your constituents are safe.”

Representative Joe Neguse of Colorado, the assistant Democratic leader, suggested that Mr. Cole should publish a “how to” guide so his colleagues would know which “24-year-old DOGE staffer” they should call when they wanted to save their own district’s Social Security office or other targets for federal cuts. And Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, pointed out that most Americans whose members did not have pull with the administration would not be as fortunate as those in Mr. Cole’s district.

“God help you if your congressperson doesn’t run a powerful committee, because that means there’s nothing to stop Elon Musk from coming after your Social Security,” Mr. McGovern said in a speech on the House floor.

Asked about the partisan disconnect, a White House spokesman did not deny that the administration was largely ignoring Democrats’ appeals while catering to those of Republicans, suggesting that it was a consequence of Democrats’ “fundamentally unserious” approach of seeking court orders to challenge Mr. Trump’s and DOGE’s spending cuts.

“Their sole tactic in pushing back on this administration has been to run to the nearest leftist judge in their neighborhood,” said Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman. “When they’re ready to drop their frivolous lawsuits, this White House will always stand ready to work across the aisle.”

Some Republican senators are still working through traditional channels — cabinet secretaries and agency heads — rather than calling Mr. Musk or his staff. Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota and an admirer of Mr. Musk, said he was “more comfortable” working with the Senate-confirmed appointees who have direct authority over the day-to-day operations at the agencies.

And at least one has simply refused to deal with Mr. Musk.

“I’m not working with the DOGE people,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who this month was the sole member of her party to vote for a Democratic proposal that would have defunded Mr. Musk’s team.

After reports emerged that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration planned to cull thousands of workers, Ms. Murkowski texted with Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary. She wanted to make sure the agency would still be able to perform its annual trawling surveys, which help establish limits for how much fish Alaska’s fishermen can catch each season.

Mr. Lutnick reassured Ms. Murkowski that the surveys would continue as planned and NOAA would also issue the necessary permits so Alaska fishermen could start catching halibut and sablefish as soon as the season opened in late March.

“It’s literally, like, crisis by crisis,” Ms. Murkowski said. “I’m letting them know what the problem is and giving them the opportunity to solve it. And we’re making a little bit of headway.”

Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, recently called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to clarify rumors circulating online about a directive by the Musk team to shrink the Pentagon’s civilian work force. Word was that the Defense Department would fire up to 600 employees at his state’s Tinker Air Force Base, plus an additional 1,000 workers at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

Mr. Lankford told local reporters that the base and the plant would not be able to operate if the cuts were carried out. Mr. Hegseth reassured Mr. Lankford that there would be no blanket layoffs at either of his state’s installations, an aide for the senator said.

Democrats, by contrast, said they had been met mostly with silence when making inquiries about cuts that could affect their constituents.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, struggled for weeks to get a response from Mr. Lutnick after sending two letters requesting details about NOAA’s abrupt staffing cuts and lease terminations. One building reportedly on the chopping block, in College Park, Md., houses several of the National Weather Service’s prediction and modeling centers.

“These guys have been AWOL when it comes to responding,” Mr. Van Hollen said in an interview, though he later received an acknowledgment that the Commerce Department had received his letters. An aide for Mr. Van Hollen said the senator’s office was working to schedule a phone call for him with Mr. Lutnick.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, said the administration was on “a stonewalling spree” and seemed to have no interest in enabling Congress to perform its constitutional oversight duties.

“I’m used to having challenges, but here, they don’t even pretend to be sincere about it,” Mr. Wyden said. “Their disinterest in even pretending to allow us to get the information and do real oversight, I think is horrible.”

Some Democrats, though, reported having found some success by teaming up with Republicans to raise concerns.

Senator Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, worked with Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska, a Republican, to lobby Chris Wright, the energy secretary, to reverse the firings of nearly 300 probationary employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Among other things, the agency oversees and maintains the country’s nuclear stockpile.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, teamed with Ms. Collins, the sole Republican in Maine’s delegation, in a push to exempt civilian naval shipyard workers from the Defense Department’s layoffs and hiring freeze. Mr. Hegseth issued the carveout this month after more than a month of lobbying by Ms. Shaheen and her staff.

The day before he did so, Ms. Collins had a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Hegseth. She told the defense secretary that if the administration wanted to remain competitive with China and maintain naval supremacy, then it could not be laying off workers from its four public shipyards, including the one in her state.

“I was pleased that it happened the next day,” Ms. Collins said, adding that she was sure the letter she and Ms. Shaheen had sent was also persuasive. “I was happy that he listened to me.”

Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.