House Republicans Request Record $4.8B Fiscal 2026 Earmarks

House lawmakers have requested a total of nearly $23.4 billion in earmarks for fiscal 2026, with Republicans requesting just over $14 billion and Democrats about $9.3 billion, though earmarks represent only 0.5% of the overall House topline. A record number of House Republicans, 174 out of 219, are seeking more than $4.8 billion in earmarked funds, reflecting a surge in GOP interest since the practice was revived in 2021. The top Republican earmarkers include Reps. John Rutherford, Brian Mast, Randy Weber, Guy Reschenthaler, and Chuck Fleischmann, with Fleischmann leading with $251.4 million largely bolstered by a major Army Corps of Engineers project. Despite Democrats securing 62% of over 5,000 individual projects, Republicans claimed about 62% of the total earmark funding, with senior Republican appropriators dominating the top funding ranks. However, the actual disbursement of these funds depends on Congress passing all 12 appropriations bills and President Donald Trump signing them into law before the September 30 deadline.