This week, Heritage Action issued another key vote — this time in support of Rep. Norman’s amendment to strip earmarks from the Labor-HHS portion of the latest minibus funding bill, H.R. 7148. It failed with a disappointing 76 GOP members voting “NO” with every single Democrat.
This amendment was always going to be a tough pill to swallow for those in Congress committed to business as usual in D.C. Here’s EXACTLY what Rep. Norman’s amendment would have done: it would have stopped millions of YOUR tax dollars from funding sex-rejecting surgeries, DEI, abortion on demand, and a host of other Leftist priorities.
This was an opportunity to block the Left’s agenda… and too many Republicans failed to show up to the fight.
Here’s the link to the Key Vote — how did your Member of Congress vote?
>> KEY VOTE: "YES" on Norman Amendment to Remove Labor-HHS Earmarks from FY26 Funding Bill
Leverage is Power
We can (and should) be vocally dissatisfied with the 76 Republicans who voted against the Norman amendment. They effectively rolled over and funded the Democrats’ priorities. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, due to the Senate filibuster, any spending bill will need at least seven Democrats to vote for it. So, if the appropriations bill doesn’t pass, the government will shut down — that gives the Democrats leverage, and leverage is power.
Republicans could learn a thing or two from Democrats on how to use their power.
Earmarks are Bad. But Democrat Earmarks are Worse.
An earmark is a special provision inserted into legislation that directs funds to a specific recipient, circumventing formula, merit-based, or competitive funds allocation processes. In other words, instead of simply setting funding levels for an existing or new federal program, earmarks are explicitly directed to a specific recipient. In the past, earmarks were a notoriously corruption-prone process that funded parochial interests and greased the skids for wasteful spending.
Basically, it’s pork. But while Republicans generally use them to fund infrastructure projects, the Left uses them as a tool to advance its radical policy agenda.
Since Republicans insisted on including their own pork, Democrats were allowed to do the same to keep the whole corrupt bargain going. You vote for mine, and I’ll vote for yours.
Read more about earmarks here.
It’s Not ALL Bad…
Credit where credit is due, Republicans didn’t let Democrats defund ICE.
The Labor-HHS bill was one of several the House passed this week. We’ll spare you the procedural details that took place to advance all of these bills — you’d be here all day reading the explanation — but an important component was the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that includes funding for immigration enforcement. Democrats were insistent on using the appropriations process to stop the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, and they failed.
Additionally, by completing the appropriations process they were able to fund the Trump administration, mostly on their own terms. That means they achieved an overall reduction in spending while funding for strengthening our military readiness, expanding oversight over rogue agencies, cracking down on drug trafficking, and other Trump administration priorities.
The Bottom Line
Republicans won the battle but made big concessions, especially in earmarks. It resulted in 76 Republicans voting to defend the indefensible.
Now those 76 Republicans need to hear from the grassroots. Holding them accountable is paramount — it’s time to use OUR power.
