WASHINGTON – Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) fired a warning shot on Friday as the White House moves forward with trying to cancel nearly $5 billion in foreign aid that lawmakers had already approved, saying the move is a “clear violation of the law.”
Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Trump administration just sent Congress a package of so-called “recissions,” or a request for lawmakers to cancel funds they had previously approved and sent out the door. In this case, President Donald Trump is reportedly trying to take back $3.2 billion from USAID programs, $393 million from State Department peacekeeping activities, $322 million from the State Department’s Democracy Fund, and more than $444 million in other peacekeeping aid.
Typically, with rescissions packages, Congress has 45 days to approve or reject a president’s request. If Congress takes no action, the funds remain spent. But in this case, the White House is intentionally jamming Congress: it sent over its rescission request within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year. If Congress doesn’t vote to reject his request before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, these funds will expire and be automatically canceled.
