By Paul Dragu
The New American
January 26, 2026
As Congress moves ahead with another expensive government funding package, we are reminded that reckless and foolish spending is a bipartisan enterprise.
The $1.2 trillion minibus sailed through the House of Representatives on Thursday by a 341-88 vote. Twenty-four Republicans and 64 Democrats voted against it. The Senate will take it up next week.
On Thursday, we reported that the minibus includes more than $5 billion in welfare for refugees. Despite a national debt of $38 trillion-plus (and climbing by the second) and White House rhetoric suggesting the days of importing welfare recipients are over, Congress begs to differ. The word is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is going to put up resistance in the Senate and introduce an amendment to address the refugee allocations.
Funding Abortions and More
But there's more in the latest funding package to rile up taxpayers. There is at least $10 million in abortion and transgender funding, with some estimates for woke initiatives rising up to $1 billion. And thanks to more than 80 Republicans, Rep. Ralph Norman's (R-S.C.) amendment to remove that earmark was defeated on Thursday.
According to Norman's office, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations portion of the funding package includes $3 million to Denver Health & Hospital Authority to provide transgender surgeries, more than $4 million to Christiana Care to perform late-term abortions up to 23 weeks, and more than $3 million to Hennepin Healthcare to operate a kids' gender clinic.
"If the communities want these, that's fine" Norman said on the House floor, but "they ought to pay for them." He added, "I don't know if you realize it or not, we're $39 trillion in debt and counting." He then cited additional facilities, in Maine and Illinois, that perform abortion and trans procedures that will be getting that funding. "Any of the communities that want this, put your money up and pay for it," he said. "The taxpayers cannot afford it."
Heritage Action and Club for Growth both supported Norman's amendment. Heritage noted the blatant disconnect between Republican representatives who voted against it and their constituents:
In demanding earmarks of their own, Republicans have opened the door to Democrats to direct taxpayer funds to entities engaged in practices that most GOP voters find abhorrent. Voters elected Republican majorities in Congress to end this. Congressman Norman's amendment would remove all earmarks from the Labor-HHS bill, reducing the total cost to taxpayers by $1.3 billion.
Club for Growth said in their statement:
Earmarks are the currency of corruption. In recent years, the Swamp has tried to rebrand earmarks as "Community Funding Projects" or "Congressionally Directed Spending." But as American poet James Whitcomb Riley is credited as saying, "if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck." H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, is littered with earmarks supporting outrageous spending prioritized by some Senators.
Unconstitutional Republicans
Norman's amendment to remove the funding for those facilities failed 136-297. Seventy-six Republicans voted against it, with another eight conveniently not voting at all. You can see a roll call of the 76 Republicans here.
One of the more high-profile Republicans who opposed Norman's amendment was Elise Stefanik, the New York representative Donald Trump nominated to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Trump had praised her as an America First champion.
Texas Rep. Keith Self was among the 136 Republicans who supported Norman's amendment. After the vote, he posted a message on his X account, saying, "With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?"
76 House Republicans joined every single House Democrat in support of earmarks for abortions, gender procedures on children, DEI activism, and partisan pet projects.With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats ? pic.twitter.com/Cbtl2bunQ2
- Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) January 22, 2026
This article was originally published on The New American.
Paul Dragu is a senior editor at The New American, award-winning reporter, host of The New American Daily, and writer of Defector: A True Story of Tyranny, Liberty and Purpose.