The White House said Friday that it planned to cut $810 million in bipartisan, congressionally approved funding, spurring criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.The executive branch would effectively send the funds back to Congress using so-called pocket rescissions, a rare budgetary tactic that the Trump administration has used before to negate congressionally allocated spending.
The rejected funding affects several programs and agencies serving immigrants, minority groups and Department of Health and Human Services research programs.The administration has argued that while the law gives Congress a 45-day period to accept or reject a White House decision to withhold funds, there is no way to follow that protocol if the action occurs less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year.
That argument has been challenged in court and criticized by lawyers and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.The fiscal year ends Sept.
30, only a few days away, and the House is not scheduled to return until after the midterm elections in November.The White House announced the move in a statement Friday, describing the rejected funding as “the most harmful government spending.” “President Trump is committed to utilizing all possible tools to cut wasteful and harmful government spending that does not benefit American citizens,” the statement said.Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, called the administration’s move “unlawful” Friday and said, “I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions.”“This move shows that [the Office of Management and Budget] intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins wrote in a statement.
“Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers.” She wrote ...