Democrats Reject President Trump’s Redlined Spending Cuts Setting Up Showdown With POTUS
“I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill,” Trump said as he signed the spending bill.
The Democrats quickly rejected this plan, dripping with arrogance, and mocked Trump for even suggesting it.
Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the president actually can withhold some types of funding for 45 legislative days if he sends a formal funding rescission request. Congress can vote on it or ignore it and wait out Trump if it gets that far.
From Washington Examiner:
President Trump’s stated plan to claw back government spending as a condition of signing the coronavirus relief and government funding bill is being met with a prompt dismissal from congressional Democrats, who are hardly taking his request seriously.
“The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over rescissions, and our Democratic Majority will reject any rescissions submitted by President Trump,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey of New York said in a statement.
“By turning the page on this request, we will allow the Biden-Harris administration to begin to ‘Build Back Better.’”
Trump on Sunday signed the coronavirus relief and government spending bill that he had previously hinted at vetoing after its passage, demanding $2,000 relief payments to the public rather than $600 and objecting to millions of dollars in foreign aid.
Had he not signed the bill, funding for the government would have expired on Monday night.
In a Sunday statement about signing the bill, Trump said he would send “a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed.”
Any request from @realDonaldTrump to claw back government spending is dead on arrival since Democrats control the House. https://t.co/44krvRBIm3
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 28, 2020