House Republicans advanced legislation on Thursday that seeks to cut funding for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) by roughly 50 percent for fiscal 2026, prompting outcry from Democrats who say the move is counterproductive to GOP efforts to root out waste in government.

The GOP-led House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to advance the legislation, with Democrats rising in sharp opposition to the plan.

The annual legislative branch funding bill, one of 12 full-year appropriations bills the committee aims to greenlight before the August recess, includes funding for House of Representatives operations, the Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), U.S. Capitol Police, and other agencies.

The bill calls for $5 billion for fiscal 2026, a 5 percent drop from current levels, when not accounting for Senate items. The total discretionary allocation rises to $6.7 billion, however, when considering those items.

“While we had to make a number of tough choices in........

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