Just when taxpayers thought Washington might finally be getting serious about trimming the fat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is making it clear that Democrats want to put the spending spree back on steroids.
Speaking at a forum hosted by the left-wing Center for American Progress, Schumer openly announced that Democrats plan to reverse major Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts in the upcoming FY2026 appropriations process—particularly for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and related programs. Not content with merely restoring bloated budgets, Schumer bragged that Democrats intend to spend even more than before DOGE stepped in.
“If you look at the budget we’re working on right now, we restore most of the cuts,” Schumer declared, “and even go higher than previous years on many of the programs that DOGE slashed.”
In other words: mission accomplished for the bureaucracy, consequences be damned.
DOGE was created to do what Washington almost never does—identify waste, fraud, and abuse and actually do something about it. According to DOGE officials, the agency has already identified $215 billion in potential savings, with $115 billion enacted so far. Those aren’t “theoretical” numbers; they represent real taxpayer dollars no longer being shoveled into inefficient or corrupt programs.
Yet Schumer made clear that Democrats view those savings not as a victory for Americans, but as an obstacle to be undone.
Even more troubling, Schumer claimed his effort has “bipartisan support,” a word that often translates to quiet cooperation from so-called Republicans-in-name-only. “We have worked really hard and gotten bipartisan support to increase these amounts and undo a lot of the cuts which are essential,” Schumer said—“essential,” of course, to the permanent Washington class.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has already proposed $5 billion more for Transportation-HUD than in FY2025, signaling that the old habits of runaway spending are alive and well.
House Republicans pushing DOGE reforms aren’t backing down. Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), chairman of the House DOGE Caucus, pushed back on Schumer’s victory lap. “DOGE is still alive,” Bean said. “We’re going to get it rocking. It certainly is not on the front burner as it needs to be, but there are still a lot of members of Congress who want to continue the battle against waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Grassroots conservatives were far less diplomatic. Social media lit up after Schumer’s remarks, with one viral post asking bluntly, “Chuck Schumer wants to undo the DOGE cuts and spend even more. What is wrong with Democrats?!”
Others pointed to America’s staggering $38 trillion national debt and questioned how much of it is tied to decades of unchecked Democratic spending. “Democrats never get tired of spending other people’s money on themselves and their schemes,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “They must be very confident they can keep rigging the system—otherwise this recklessness wouldn’t make sense.”
The frustration is clear. After years of inflation, rising interest rates, and shrinking household budgets, Americans are watching Washington elites attempt to erase one of the few real efforts to rein in spending.
DOGE exposed a simple truth: there is plenty of money in Washington—just not enough accountability. Schumer’s comments confirm what conservatives have long suspected: for Democrats, government efficiency is a threat, not a goal. And unless voters hold the line, everything DOGE achieved could disappear with the stroke of a pen.
