Congressional Republicans are gearing up for a major test of how easily they can lock in cuts sought by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he aims to have the House act swiftly on approving Trump’s request for more than $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funding. That package is expected to hit the floor this week.

“We haven’t done anything like this in a while, so this is probably, in some ways, a test run,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters.

Trump last week sent Congress a request for $8.3 billion in cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and foreign aid, and more than $1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides some funding to NPR and PBS.

The request kick-starts a process that would allow Republicans to claw back funds for a list of programs on the administration's chopping block with just a simple majority in both chambers. That means Republicans wouldn’t require Democratic votes in the Senate if they can stay mostly unified in greenlighting what’s known as a rescissions package.

But it’s been decades since Congress has approved such a request to yank back funds previously greenlighted by lawmakers. Trump tried to use the same process to rescind funds in his first term but was unsuccessful, despite Republicans controlling the House, Senate and White House at the time.

Republicans are bullish that this time will be different, however.

“[Trump’s] done this before, and they've got a great team, I think, in place,” Cole said. “They've thought about these........

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