Lawmakers call Trump’s $810 million funding plan unlawful

The planned funding cuts

The White House said Friday that it plans to cancel in bipartisan, congressionally approved spending. The administration intends to use “pocket rescissions,” a budget tactic that would effectively return the money to Congress shortly before the fiscal year ends.

The affected funding includes Department of Health and Human Services research programs and programs serving immigrants and minority groups. It also covers nongovernmental organizations that assist immigrants and refugees, housing-counseling groups, and efforts that bring foreign students and faculty to U.S. academic institutions.

The White House characterized the spending as harmful and wasteful. It said President Donald Trump would use available tools to stop spending that the administration believes does not benefit U.S. citizens.

Why lawmakers object

Federal law gives Congress 45 days to accept or reject a president’s request to withhold funds. The administration argues that this process cannot be completed when the request arrives fewer than 45 days before the fiscal year closes.

Collins, a Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the move unlawful. She said the Office of Management and Budget had withheld the money for months and was taking over Congress’s constitutional role in deciding how federal funds are spent.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s Democratic vice chair, said the administration was treating congressional votes and federal laws as optional. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats would challenge the cuts.

The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and the House is not scheduled to return until after the November midterm elections. The administration’s use of pocket rescissions has also faced a court challenge.