Trump uses contested power to cut nearly $1B US in Congress-approved spending
U.S. President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget described the funding cut as focused on 'the most harmful government spending.' (Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press)Social SharingU.S. President Donald Trump is cancelling nearly $1 billion US in spending approved by Congress, the White House announced on Friday, using a rare and contested power to axe funding for immigrant services and diversity-focused initiatives.
Trump's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) described the funding cut as focused on "the most harmful government spending."
Most of the cuts are focused on services for immigrants, including non-profits that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. The administration says the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably.
A White House news release announcing the funding cuts notes some of the organizations are led by people who worked in the administration of former president Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Trump's move was condemned by Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican in a tough re-election campaign and chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
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Collins said in a statement that the action came without warning or consultation. She also said she would work to address with colleagues "these illegal actions."
"… It is a usurpation of Congress's appropriations powers," Collins said. "OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding."
Typically, Congress can review the president's proposed spending cuts before they take effect. But Trump made that all but impossible by announcing them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year.
The Government Accountability Office — the independent, non-partisan watchdog agency that works for Congress — says the manoeuvre, known as a "pocket rescission," is illegal.
Collins called it the latest attempt by OMB to "undermine Congress's constitutional power of the purse."
A year ago, Trump issued a pocket rescission for the first time in 50 years by blocking $4.9 billion US in congressionally approved foreign aid. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block those rescissions, saying Trump's authority over foreign affairs weighed heavily in its decision. This year, Trump is targeting domestic spending.
The use of a pocket rescission fits a broader pattern by the Trump administration to exact greater control over the U.S. government, eroding the power of Congress.
The administration has also fired federal workers, imposed a historic increase in tariffs, and started the war in Iran without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judicial branch to determine the limits of presidential power.
