House Republicans introduced a new spending bill on Saturday, known as a continuing resolution (CR), that includes some cuts to funding for police and law enforcement programs, including completely eliminating funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, proposed a stopgap funding bill to maintain current federal spending levels through September 30.
Newsweek reached out to Johnson’s office via email on Saturday for comment.
Why It Matters
In a Truth Social post last Wednesday night, President Donald Trump demanded Republicans avert a potential government shutdown.
The CR, which would fund the government through September 30 without requiring new appropriations legislation, reduces the Department of Justice‘s (DOJ) state and local law enforcement assistance and zeroes out several policing grant programs.
This legislation must pass by Friday’s midnight deadline of March 14 to avoid a partial government shutdown. This would be the first shutdown under Trump’s second administration.
The bill represents a major shift in Republican positioning on law enforcement funding, historically a key GOP priority. With Trump’s endorsement, House Republicans are attempting to push through these police funding cuts despite potential political costs and likely Democratic opposition.
Significant Cuts to Services, Defense Increase
The proposed legislation reveals several specific cuts to law enforcement programs:
- Department of Justice State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance would receive $499,033,000, with multiple program allocations reduced to $0. These programs typically provide grants to local police departments for equipment, training, and community initiatives.
- Community Oriented Policing Services Programs, which are completely defunded ($0 allocation) in this bill, traditionally provide funding to hire community policing officers, develop community-police partnerships, and support crime-fighting initiatives at the local level.
- The bill reflects a broader Republican strategy to reduce nondefense spending by about $13 billion compared to last year.
- Other significant cuts target health services, substance abuse programs, and services for children, families, and elderly populations.
This approach breaks with the traditional bipartisan standard where defense (military and national security) and nondefense spending (domestic programs like education, healthcare, and law enforcement) move in tandem.
The bill provides approximately $892.5 billion for defense (a slight increase) while cutting nondefense programs to about $708 billion.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, on Saturday: “The House and Senate have put together, under the circumstances, a very good funding Bill (‘CR’)! All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week… We have to remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right. VERY IMPORTANT. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Representative Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, said in a statement: “I don’t like CRs [continuing resolutions]. But what’s the alternative? Negotiate with Democrats? No.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, a New York Democrat, told reporters last week: “Democrats are ready to negotiate a meaningful, bipartisan spending agreement that puts working people first. [The] partisan continuing resolution threatens to cut funding for key programs…That is not acceptable.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters: “[I’m] asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, in a statement: “We have always believed the only solution is a bipartisan solution, no matter what.”
What Happens Next
The bill is scheduled for a vote on Tuesday despite the lack of Democratic support. If Congress fails to act by Friday’s deadline, a partial government shutdown will begin.