House Republicans Balk at Interior’s Proposed 30-Percent Budget Cut

Administration’s $11.9 billion plan eliminates up to 10 percent of agency workers, spurring Western lawmakers to question if savings are worth their cost.

The Mount Rainier National Park entrance in Washington state on Jan. 2, 2012. Andrew Winner/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration’s “skinny budget” slashes Department of Interior spending by 30.5 percent and eliminates up to 10 percent of its 60,000 workers.

Those staffing cuts are not sitting well with House Republicans from western states who warned Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum during a May 20 hearing that if the administration doesn’t restore some payroll, they will.