Dozens of House lawmakers rally around funding Afghan visa program as Trump vows major spending cuts

A group of 51 bipartisan lawmakers is urging House negotiators to keep up the flow of dollars to a visa program for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover of their country.

Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, wrote to the House of Representatives’ top appropriators as they continue to negotiate federal funding for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2025.

“We write to urge you to maintain critical provisions for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program1 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations package. Authorizing new Afghan SIVs is critical to vetting and relocating qualified Afghan principal applicants currently in the processing pipeline,” they wrote to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and others.

It comes as President-elect Trump promised to work toward steep spending cuts in the coming federal funding fights. He wrote on Truth Social last week, “The United States will cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next year through Reconciliation!”

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People in Trump’s orbit, including some House Republicans, are pushing for him to have greater control over how congressionally appropriated funds are spent.

Meanwhile, Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy last month to lead an advisory panel on cost-cutting dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

The duo have already positioned themselves as influential players in Congress’ spending discussions as well, having led the revolt against a 1,547-page government funding bill that was a product of bipartisan negotiations. They have not, however, said where they want to see Congress pull back on spending.

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The 51 lawmakers pushing for the Afghan SIV program to be preserved argue it is “a life-saving path to safety for Afghan nationals who face serious danger as a result of their work alongside U.S. troops, diplomats, and contractors.”

“Congress must continue this work so that the State Department is able to issue visas to eligible Afghans who face imminent threats from the Taliban, Islamic State, and other hostile groups because of their service to the U.S. and our allies,” they wrote.

The Afghan SIV program was first enacted in 2009, but saw new importance after the Taliban’s lightening-fast takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 – which precipitated the U.S.’s withdrawal after decades in the Middle Eastern country.

Congress authorized additional visas under the program every year since FY 2019, according to the letter.

Congressional negotiators have so far failed to come to an agreement on FY 2025 spending, forcing lawmakers to pass two extensions of last year’s funding levels to prevent a partial government shutdown.

The most recent extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), gives lawmakers until March 14 to make a deal.

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