Sidelined by Trump and Musk, Hill spending leaders fight for relevance

Congressional appropriators, the lawmakers with jurisdiction over government funding, were once among the most powerful figures on Capitol Hill — tough and often-revered negotiators who struck bipartisan deals even in the most polarized times. Those days might be over.

Last week’s rapid-fire push by GOP leaders to enact a stopgap funding bill through September put into sharp relief the waning influence of the House and Senate Appropriations committees that once ran the show. With President Donald Trump giving Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk and White House budget director Russ Vought unprecedented latitude over the federal purse strings, the leaders of the spending panels were ultimately sidelined by the executive branch and their own party leaders.

Appropriators insist they are merely experiencing a setback, not headed for extinction, and that they fully intend to regain their relevance. Republicans are pledging a return to “regular order” by completing all 12 annual spending bills on time — a feat that has not been accomplished since the 1990s.