House Republicans failed two key votes this week on conservative spending cuts and judicial oversight.

On Wednesday, 46 Republicans joined Democrats to defeat an amendment by Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy that would have slashed funding for the D.C. District and Appeals Courts by 20%. The amendment also targeted salary and expense funding for the staff of Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman — both subjects of Republican impeachment articles over alleged judicial overreach. (RELATED: Reagan-Era Judge Calls Trump ‘Authoritarian’ As He Prepares To Block Deportations)

The vote came on H.R. 7006, an appropriations bill funding the Executive Office of the President, Treasury Department, federal judiciary, and other agencies for fiscal year 2026.

Boasberg has drawn particular Republican scrutiny for his role in Arctic Frost, the codename for special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the 2020 election. The judge ordered the FBI to seize cellphone data from eight Republican senators and congressmen. Documents revealed in October showed the probe extended to figures including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and President Donald Trump, plus organizations like Turning Point USA and the America First Policy Institute.

US Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, holds a copy of an FBI document as he announces that an FBI whistleblower says the FBI during the Arctic Frost investigation had subpoenaed the records of Republican elected officials in Congress, during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, October 6, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Boasberg, an Obama appointee who has issued orders blocking Trump’s deportation efforts, also gagged telecom companies from notifying the monitored individuals that their data had been seized.

Boardman, a Biden appointee, sentenced the man who attempted to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to just over eight years in prison — 22 years below the government’s request. She cited the defendant’s transgender identity as among the mitigating factors.

Despite Republican outrage over what they view as judicial overreach — judges allegedly spying on congressmen and obstructing Trump’s agenda — 46 Republicans voted against Roy’s amendment. Eleven others didn’t vote, and one voted present.

The second failed amendment, from Republican Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, would have defunded the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Crane blasted NED as a “rogue organization that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda” and called out the 81 Republicans in the “uniparty” who joined Democrats in defeating it. Twelve Republicans didn’t vote.

Supporters invoked fiscal conservatism to rally votes.

“Where is that enthusiasm now?” Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Harris asked on the House floor. “Why are we not continuing to slash waste, fraud and abuse?” He questioned why Republicans would cut PBS, NPR and USAID but spare NED.

Only a year ago, House Republicans were hyping up DOGE and @ElonMusk.

Where is that enthusiasm now? Why are we not continuing to slash the fraud?

Last night, why did 81 Republicans vote to fund a rogue organization that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda? pic.twitter.com/RDsb5NXOVN

— Rep. Mark Harris (@RepMarkHarrisNC) January 15, 2026

“While we are wielding the budget axe,” Harris concluded, “let us be unequivocal about what should never receive another dime of taxpayer money.”

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee echoed the criticism, calling NED a “leftist enterprise” that shouldn’t receive taxpayer funding.

“I know there’s a reasonable opportunity for legitimate disagreement on many issues within the Republican Party. This should not be one of them,” Lee said outside the Capitol. “When you campaign for office as a Republican, you promise to shrink the government because it’s doing too many things it was never intended to do. And for the love of Pete, we should at least be able to agree that we shouldn’t take money from hardworking Americans and give it to leftist causes.”

Lee dismissed any suggestion that House Republicans voted with Democrats over concerns about Senate opposition, calling such excuses hollow.

The failures highlight persistent Republican divisions ahead of the midterms, with the GOP remaining unable to match Democratic unity on key votes.

Uniparty Republicans—including the 81 who just voted with Democrats to keep sending your hard-earned money to the far-left NED—are making a mockery of the voters who elected them

Pick a horse—and ride it

If you’d rather ride a donkey, you’re probably in the wrong party https://t.co/iMf5hVHSKD pic.twitter.com/xIJ9PscVCS

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 15, 2026

Since December, three Republicans have introduced separate bills to end welfare benefits for noncitizens: Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Florida Rep. Randy Fine.

Despite near-identical goals, none has attracted a single co-sponsor — not even from each other. Rather than rally behind Cotton’s bill, Paul and Fine each introduced their own versions.

All three framed their proposals in virtually identical language about putting “hardworking Americans” first and not forcing citizens to subsidize benefits for noncitizens including healthcare, housing, food stamps, and Medicaid.

The lack of coordination suggests deeper problems than the failed amendments. In the House, leadership controls which bills reach the floor, and zero co-sponsors signals insufficient GOP support. In the Senate, Cotton or Paul could force consideration through procedural maneuvers, but without broader backing or Majority Leader John Thune’s support, their bills could face the same fate.

Cotton, Fine, and Paul did not respond to requests for comment.

“It’s now 2026, and we’re foolish as ever,” Crane said after his amendment failed. “The swamp is real, and it’s bipartisan.”