WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson he won’t spend $4.9 billion on Congress Foreign aideffectively cut your budget without passing through legislative branches.
R-La on Thursday. Trump, who sent a letter to Johnson, uses what he called the withdrawal of the pocket. When the President submits a request to Congress to not use the funds approved at the end of the fiscal year, Congress cannot act on the request over a 45-day time frame, and the money will end up becoming immature. It is the first time the president has used it in nearly 50 years. The fiscal year is coming to an end at the end of September.
The letter was posted on the X account of the White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday morning. The funds will be cut by the State Department, US International Development Organizationor USAID, an early target of Trump’s efforts to cut foreign aid.
If the White House standardizes this move, the president could effectively bypass Congress on key spending choices, potentially casting disruptive efforts in the House and Senate, and maintaining government funds when the next fiscal year begins in October.
The use of pocket retraction fits the broader patterns of the Trump administration to accurately limit greater control over the U.S. government, eroding the power of Congresses and agencies, such as the Federal Reserve and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The government already has it Dismissed federal workers And was assigned Historic increase in tariffs Without passing through Congress, it puts a burden on the judicial division to determine the limits of the president’s power.
White House officials declined to discuss the move, claiming anonymity in their call with reporters. Officials expressed confidence that the administration would beat any legal challenge, saying the proposed spending cut goal is to allow for the cleanest cases for these types of clawbacks.
Roll up the Usaid
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that USAID is essentially closed, congratulating White House budget director Russ Vought with managing the process.
“USAID is officially in closeout mode,” Rubio said. “Russ is now at the helm to oversee the closeouts of agents that were off the rail back in the old days.”
The Water Storage Management Act of 1974 gives the President the authority to propose cancellation of funds approved by Congress. Congress can vote to pull or maintain funds within 45 days, but by proposing a withdrawal near September 30th, the White House claims that the money will not be spent and the funds will expire.
Essentially the withdrawal of the final pocket took place in 1977 by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. The Trump administration argues that it is a legally acceptable tool as Carter initially proposed clawback well before the 45-day deadline.
Pushback for pocket rescue
The Trump administration’s move promptly sparked a backlash in parts of the Senate over its legality.
In a statement, Sen. Susan Collins of R-Maine said the constitution “clears clear that Congress is responsible for the power of the wallet.”
“Instead of this attempt to undermine the law, the right way to do this is to identify ways to reduce excess spending through a bipartisan annual spending process,” Collins said. Congress regularly approves rescues as part of this process. ”
New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that Trump’s use of pocket veto could undermine the usual fundraising process and risk “a painful, completely unnecessary shutdown.” Ultimately, budget contracts reached in the Senate could be lacking if the Trump White House has the power to withhold what it deems appropriate.
Schumer said in a statement that Republican leaders have yet to meet Democrats on the road to fund the government after the fiscal year ended September 30, just as Trump attempted to “an illegal gambit to avoid Congress together.”
“But if Republicans insist on going alone, Democrats won’t be the party to their destruction,” Schumer said.
“There are no exceptions.”
Eloise Pasakoff, a law professor at Georgetown University and a federal spending expert, wrote that the Water Storage Control Act only allows rescues if Congress acts within 45 days.
“This mandatory language does not accept exceptions. It shows that Congress expects funds to be used as intended before the end of the fiscal year if they do not approve the proposed withdrawal,” Pasakov wrote in an academic paper last year.
What are the funds?
Funding for the Pocket Recositions package includes $3.2 billion in development assistance grants, $520 million from the United Nations, $838 million in international peacekeeping operations, and $322 million to encourage democratic values in other countries.
Trump had previously tried to gain Congressional support, but managed to do so in July, when the House and Senate approved it. Reductions worth $9 billion. These boredom has curtailed funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid.
The Trump administration has deeply reduced one of its distinctive policies to foreign aid, in connection with relatively poor savings. deficit And it could damage America’s reputation overseas as foreign populations lose access to food supplies and development programs.
In February, the administration said it would. Eliminate almost all of USAID’s foreign aid agreements Overall support overseas is $60 billion. The USAID has since been demolished, with few remaining programs. It is under the control of the State Department.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to suspend a lower court’s decision to maintain global health and foreign aid, including HIV and AIDS programs, which Trump had tried to freeze.
The New York Post first reported the withdrawal of the pocket.
___
Associated writers Mark Sherman and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
