As President Trump and Elon Musk slash deeper into federal programs and the work force, G.O.P. lawmakers are leveraging their connections to try to insulate themselves and their voters.
Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, learned that his district might lose a Social Security Administration field office and the National Weather Center’s primary storm prediction hub the same way many other Americans did: through a public webpage the Department of Government Efficiency calls its “wall of receipts.”
Mr. Cole, the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee that controls federal spending, quickly swung into action to try to head off the cuts. He and his aides started dialing their staff contacts at DOGE, the White House and the federal agencies in charge of the facilities on the chopping block, which also included a field office for the Indian Health Service.
Within days, a DOGE staff member had reassured Mr. Cole that the three buildings had been removed from the lease cancellation list. Mr. Cole took to social media to boast of his success, proclaiming that he was “so proud” to have advocated for his constituents and protected facilities that provide them with “vital and valuable services.”
Republicans who control Congress have made little official effort to challenge or scrutinize the actions of President Trump and Elon Musk as they move forward with a swift and aggressive bid to slash government, trampling on the legislative branch’s spending authority in the process. But when it comes to cuts that affect their districts and states, some have stepped up their attempts to push back privately, even as they publicly cheer the broader drive to overhaul what they call a “bloated” bureaucracy.
The trend underscores a distinct shift in how Congress is operating in Mr. Trump’s second term. Because Republican lawmakers have largely ceded their power to the executive branch, effectively giving up their institutional ability to rein in the president, they are instead relying on individual relationships to insulate themselves and their constituents from the adverse impact of his actions.