Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) sounded the alarm on Friday over President Trump’s latest request to yank back congressionally approved funding, this time without Congress’ say-so, calling it an “attempt to undermine the law.”
Collins said the recent request sent to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday seeks to pull back $4.9 billion in funding for “a wide range of foreign aid programs.”
“Given that this package was sent to Congress very close to the end of the fiscal year when the funds are scheduled to expire, this is an apparent attempt to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval,” Collins said in the Friday statement.
She pointed to previous conclusions by the Government of Accountability Office that such attempts are “unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act.”
“Article I of the Constitution makes clear that Congress has the responsibility for the power of the purse. Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law,” she said.
“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,” she said, noting Congress “approves rescissions regularly as part of this process.”
The proposal targets funds previously allocated to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the administration dismantled earlier this year.
The Impoundment Control Act (ICA) lays out rules governing the rescissions process and allows the administration to temporarily withhold funding for 45 days while Congress considers the request. If Congress opts not to approve the request in the timeframe, the funds must be released.
Trump earlier this year became the first president in decades to successfully claw back funds through the normal rescissions process, with the GOP-led Congress agreeing to pull back about $9 billion in previously allocated funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting in July.
The latest request is known as a “pocket rescission,” however, because the president would send the same type of request to Congress, but do so within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The targeted funds could then essentially be held until the clock runs out and they expire.
Collins pushed back on the exclusion of Congress from the process, saying the annual funding bill for the State Department would be “the most appropriate way to ensure that any rescissions reflect the views of Congress,” while noting the Appropriations Committee plans to begin marking up the proposal when lawmakers return in September.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
The move by the administration marks the latest instance that Trump has prompted pushback from both sides of the aisle for seeking to block or cancel funding previously approved by Congress without getting approval from lawmakers.
At the same time, however, Trump officials have argued pocket rescissions are legal, with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought describing the controversial maneuver as “one of the executive tools” that are “on the table” earlier this summer.
“The president was elected to get us to balance, to deal with our fiscal situation, and we’re going to use all of the tools that are there depending on the situation, and as we move through the year,” he said at an event.