Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds took to Fox Business Tuesday night to advocate for deeper cuts in government spending, cheering the House’s narrow passage of a stopgap funding bill and urging the Senate to follow suit with reductions proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The comments came as the House approved a six-month continuing resolution (CR) by a razor-thin 217-213 vote, with Democrats largely opposing the measure despite their past warnings against shutdown risks.
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Appearing on “The Evening Edit” with host Elizabeth Macdonald, Donalds was asked whether the Senate would pass the CR and incorporate DOGE’s budget-slashing rescissions.
“I think that’s what the Senate should be doing,” he replied. “We are at a point where we have to cut back, we have to tighten our belts.” A former financial advisor, Donalds dismissed leftist focus on stock market dips, insisting that “sound economic principles”—not “massive government overspending and stimulus”—should anchor the economy. “That is simply not sustainable,” he said.
The CR now heads to the Senate, where a simple majority could greenlight DOGE’s cuts, a brainchild of President Donald Trump and his efficiency czar, Elon Musk.
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Trump has signaled plans to weave these reductions into the 2026 budget, even hinting on Truth Social at backing a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., after Massie bucked the GOP on the funding vote. With the Senate’s decision looming, Donalds argued that belt-tightening is essential “so we can get on a sound financial footing going forward.”
Donalds zeroed in on the U.S. Department of Education, recently gutted by 1,315 layoffs from its 4,133-strong workforce, as a prime target.
“Look at the test scores of kids in our country since the creation of the Department of Education. Our kids have fallen behind,” he said. “If your kids are falling behind but we’re funding billions of dollars towards this effort, shouldn’t we examine everybody that’s there?”
He questioned the need for so many administrators, suggesting that redirecting funds to parents would better serve students.
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A vocal supporter of the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), Donalds proposed funneling Education Department dollars into 529 accounts, giving parents direct control. “These resources will be better spent actually getting into the hands of parents so that their children can be better educated,” he said.
The Trump administration, which ordered the layoffs to curb waste, insists the cuts won’t hobble operations but will shift oversight to states, per an official speaking to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The House vote exposed party fissures—Republicans leaned on near-unity to pass the CR, while Democrats decried its DOGE-friendly framework.
As the Senate weighs its next move, Donalds’ call for fiscal restraint amplifies a GOP push to shrink government, with the Education Department’s downsizing as a high-profile test case. Whether his vision of parent-empowered education and leaner bureaucracy takes root hinges on Senate action—and the broader Trump agenda—in the weeks ahead.
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