Tell Congress: Stop The Reconciliation Backdoor

We call on Congress to stop using budget reconciliation to fund core government functions that belong in bipartisan appropriations bills.

Last year, Republicans used reconciliation to pass $280 billion for the Pentagon and DHS — shattering the norm that agency funding requires cross-party negotiation. Now, Trump has ordered Republicans to fund ICE through a party-line bill by June 1, with a potential $200 billion Iran war package to follow. Republicans are even exploring locking in immigration enforcement funding for the entire remainder of Trump's presidency this way.

Senior members of their own party are worried. Senator John Hoeven acknowledged the "slippery slope." Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it bad for "the future of the Senate."

Three GOP aides predicted this will force every future president to use reconciliation rather than negotiate — making bipartisan appropriations extinct.

As Georgetown's Matt Glassman warned, this strips away the accountability guardrails that bipartisan deals have always included. You don't just lose compromise. You lose control over how the money is spent.

Sign now: demand your representative defend the appropriations process before this backdoor becomes permanent.