The Trump Administration’s recent attempt to cancel funding previously approved by Congress through “pocket rescissions” is creating a political land mine for Congress as it races to avert a government shutdown by September 30th. Democrats have warned that efforts by the administration to unilaterally claw back money would seriously undermine the fragile bipartisanship required to fund the government. Republicans are also sounding the alarm, questioning whether the move is legal and saying it undermines the will of Congress. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Friday that the latest announcement by the administration is evidence that “Trump and Congressional Republicans are hellbent on rejecting bipartisanship and ‘going it alone’ this fall.”
Senate Republicans’ chief funding negotiator, Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), meanwhile, said “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.” Instead of this attempt to undermine the law, the appropriate way is to identify ways to reduce excessive spending through the bipartisan, annual appropriations process, noting Congress “approves rescissions regularly as part of this process.”
The rescissions request sent Thursday to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) calls for yanking back about $5 billion in funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the administration dismantled earlier this year. Under the budget law governing the process, known as the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), the administration asks Congress to cancel select funds. While lawmakers consider that request, the administration is also allowed to temporarily withhold funding for 45 days.
