Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress

The White House used a rarely used 'pocket rescission' to bypass Congress in its latest spending fight with the Trump administration. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US president Donald Trump sought on Friday to unilaterally withhold more than US$800 million in spending on immigration, race and education that Congress has approved.The move was the latest salvo in a fight between the Trump administration and Congress over control of the nation's spending."President Trump is committed to utilising all possible tools to cut wasteful and harmful government spending that does not benefit American citizens," the White House said in a statement announcing the steps.The statement outlined several programmes, including some focused on refugee assistance, racial-minority business development and overseas conservation.The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, but the White House said the programmes supported illegal immigration, stoked racial tensions and promoted alarmist approaches to the environment.The White House is deploying a rarely used technique known as a "pocket rescission" that bypasses Congress.Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the chamber's appropriations committee, described the step as "illegal.""This is the most recent attempt by this office of management and budget to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse," said Collins, a member of Trump's Republican Party fighting a tight race for reelection in Maine. "Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law."The Supreme Court last year declined to block Trump from using the same tactic to withhold US$4.9 billion in foreign aid Congress had approved, while litigation continued.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion 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 described the funding cut as focused on “the most harmful government spending.”Most of the cuts are focused on services for immigrants, including nonprofits 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 press release announcing the funding rescissions notes that some of the organizations are led by people who worked in the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.Trump’s move was condemned by Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican in a tough re-election campaign and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.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.”“Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also 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 says the maneuver, 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 in congressionally approved foreign aid. Supreme Court declined to block those rescissions, saying that 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 part 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…