GOP looks to reduce spending after hearing criticism back home

Republicans are eyeing ways to rein in spending this week after facing a barrage of criticism back home for swelling the federal deficit with a massive government funding package.
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Republican lawmakers who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility say they are feeling the heat from constituents outraged over government spending.

“They’re upset. They’re saying, ‘What are you guys doing up there?’ ” Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, said of his constituents. “If the Republicans stand for anything, it’s fiscal responsibility.”

The House is slated to vote Thursday on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, while GOP leaders are in talks with the Trump administration about clawing back some of the funding hikes that were recently adopted in the 2018 omnibus spending bill.Neither idea is likely to go very far in Congress, however, which has some skeptics calling the moves nothing more than a gimmick designed to boost the party’s fiscal bona fides ahead of the midterm elections.