Schumer and Collins rage over Trump's "pocket rescissions"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer at the U.S. Capitol on July 29. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Trump's plan to cancel $4.9 billion in congressional-approved foreign aid is aggravating members of both parties, complicating next month's scramble to avoid a government shutdown.
Why it matters: The White House is looking for another fight over spending. Democratic leaders want to show their voters they aren't afraid to join it.
Driving the news: The Office of Management and Budget informed Congress on Thursday night that it would be using a so-called "pocket rescission" to claw back funding for the United States Agency for International Development and other State Department programs, the New York Post reported.
- Congress passed a rescission package in July that withdrew $9 billion in funding for PBS and NPR, as well as for foreign aid programs.
- But a "pocket rescission" comes so late in the fiscal year that it essentially cancels the funding, regardless of whether Congress votes to approve it.
What they are saying: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made a direct link between OMB's "unlawful" pocket rescission and a potential government shutdown at the end of September.
- "It is clear neither President Trump nor Congressional Republicans have any plan to avoid a painful and entirely unnecessary shutdown," Schumer said in a statement.
- "Democrats stand ready to work with anyone to help American families, lower health care costs and secure our communities. But if Republicans are insistent on going it alone, Democrats won't be party to their destruction," he added.
- "No lawmaker should accept this absurd, illegal ploy to steal their constitutional power to determine how taxpayer dollars get spent," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee chair, also raised concerns.
- "Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law," she said in a statement.
- "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," Collins added.
The bottom line: Schumer helped Republicans avoid a shutdown this spring by supporting a procedural vote that allowed the GOP to fund the government.
- But he's under enormous pressure not to do so again at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
- Trump isn't making it any easier for Schumer to help Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) avoid a shutdown.
