Republicans Propose Bill to Fast-Track Trump’s Efficiency Drive

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) speaks during an interview with The Epoch Times on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A bicameral bill put forward by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) aims to fast-track President Donald Trump’s reorganization of federal agencies by resurrecting and expanding a presidential authority that expired in 1984.

The Reorganization Act of 2025 would reauthorize the president to submit federal restructuring plans to Congress by Dec. 31, 2026. Once received, Congress would have no more than 90 days to vote on those plans.

The bill would also amend the long-defunct law to expressly allow the president to propose abolishing executive departments, reducing the federal workforce, and amending and eliminating “unnecessary and burdensome” rules and regulations.

If passed, the bill would bolster Trump’s legal defense against the flurry of lawsuits that have been filed seeking to halt his efforts to streamline the government.

“This legislation allows the president to use his constitutional authority as chief executive to reorganize federal agencies, eliminate weaponization, and right-size the government to better serve the American people,” Lee said on Feb. 13.

“Congress cannot afford to sit on its hands in this fight. Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the president can use to restore good governance to Washington.”

Various federal judges have blocked several of Trump’s policies from taking effect.

New restrictions on birthright citizenship, efforts to cut medical research funding, and the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to certain payment systems and data are all currently in limbo due to litigation.

A judge also briefly paused the administration’s federal worker buyout program before deciding to lift the injunction and permit the buyout to proceed.

Comer, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said voters elected Trump to reform Washington.

“The federal bureaucracy has grown dramatically in size and scope, creating unnecessary red tape. We must cut through the inefficiency and streamline government to improve service delivery and save taxpayers money,” Comer said.

The executive branch encompasses more than 400 agencies and roughly 2.3 million federal civil service employees, excluding military personnel and postal workers.

Some 75,000 workers accepted the Trump administration’s buyout offer—officially dubbed the Deferred Retirement Program—which allows them to receive full pay and benefits through Sept. 30 as they seek alternative employment.

In keeping with Trump’s plans to scale back the federal workforce, one new limitation the proposed bill would enact is a restriction barring plans that would create a net increase in either the number of federal workers or expenditures.

The president would also be barred from creating new executive departments, extending authorization for expiring departments or functions, authorizing departments to perform new functions, increasing the term of an office, or proposing a plan that deals with more than one logically consistent subject.

Mark Tapscott contributed to this report.