• The return of earmarks has Republicans clashing over fiscal responsibility ahead of September’s funding deadline.
• Conservatives warn earmarks echo pork-barrel politics and threaten GOP credibility on debt reduction.
• Appropriators defend earmarks as vital tools to secure funding for state priorities against unelected bureaucrats.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — The return of earmarks to annual appropriations bills has ignited a bitter battle among Republicans on Capitol Hill, pitting fiscal hawks against the party’s appropriators and their allies. The fight could derail efforts to pass spending bills ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline.

Republicans are under scrutiny after President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, projected to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Conservatives are demanding significant spending cuts in fiscal 2026 bills to prove their commitment to reducing the deficit.

Adding fuel to tensions, appropriations bills are already loaded with congressionally directed spending. Conservatives say earmarks represent a regression to pork-barrel spending, undermining Republican credibility at a moment when Democrats are hammering the GOP over exploding future deficits.

Earmarks vs. Fiscal Hawks

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Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a leading conservative, warned:

“It’s still prohibited by conference policy, and I think we need to stick to that,” Lee told The Hill.

Lee called earmarks “incompatible with our approach as Republicans” given America’s $37 trillion debt. Some conservatives want a yearlong stopgap spending measure, freezing funding levels to stall earmarks entirely.

Senate Republicans formally voted for a permanent ban on earmarks in 2019, but the practice has resurged. The House reversed its ban in 2021, and Senate Republicans quietly left loopholes allowing members to direct funding requests.

Johnson’s Pushback

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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) blasted the process as “secretive” and “offensive.”

“That’s the problem. This stuff is all secret until you’re ready to vote on it,” Johnson said.

Johnson floated a proposal to rescind earmarks if senators use them for campaign bragging rights. Twenty-one Republicans backed his amendment, including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Joni Ernst.

Appropriators Dig In

The backlash intensified after Punchbowl News reported that Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) secured more than $810 million in earmarks for her state. Collins, facing a tough reelection, defended the practice:

“I have a better sense of my state’s funding needs than unelected bureaucrats in Washington,” she argued.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have dramatically expanded earmarks. An analysis by Roll Call found nearly $8 billion in earmarks packed into next year’s appropriations bills. Even Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.), once an outspoken critic, has requested more than $55 million for his district.

The Bigger Spending Fight

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), head of the Senate Steering Committee, warned conservatives would fight to pull earmarks from bills while also pressing for broader spending cuts.

“We’ve got to understand we have a $2 trillion annual deficit,” Scott said. “We’ve got to get spending under control.”

Scott linked the earmark debate to a larger push for entitlement reforms, noting conservatives failed to secure deeper cuts in Trump’s legislation. Alongside Lee and Johnson, Scott backed an amendment to reduce Medicaid spending by $313 billion, though it failed to receive a vote.

With Republicans divided, the battle over earmarks risks further complicating the September funding deadline. The clash underscores the GOP’s identity struggle — between party discipline and political pragmatism — at a moment when their control of Washington demands results.

Will earmarks prove to be the GOP’s undoing, or a necessary tool of governing?

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