Remember that awful omnibus bill the government passed last month? The backlash was swift and strong.
Apparently, lawmakers listened because reports suggest Trump and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have started to look at ways to slash spending from the $1.3 trillion bill.
From Politico:
White House officials are working closely with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the rescission package, said the sources. It’s not clear which programs could be targeted or when the House would vote, although the White House had targeted dozens of programs in Trump’s 2019 budget proposal. The White House also proposed nearly $15 billion in budget cuts as part of last year’s hurricane relief package, which were never acted upon.Under the 1974 Budget Act, a rescission resolution could pass the Senate on a simple majority vote. The political split in the Senate is 50-49 until Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith is sworn in to replace former Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). But some Senate Republicans could balk at such cuts after they recently supported the omnibus spending bill.The White House is also weighing whether to send a proposal for a line-item veto to Congress, which has been declared unconstitutional in the past. Trump has demanded line-item veto power to cut out spending programs preferred by Democrats.
I’m not shocked that Trump is looking into this. He threatened to veto the bill, but went ahead and signed it into law due to the military spending provisions. Trump held a press conference when he signed it and told Congress he “will never sign another bill like this again.”
The Washington Post reported that House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) “praised McCarthy for working with the White House on a plan to pare it back.” Meadows offered his support and is happy that McCarthy listened to his constituents.
However, even though Republicans have the majority, Congress may not approve Trump’s request. More than likely Democrats will oppose this action since it was their approval of the omnibus bill that made it pass.
From Politico:
Democrats slammed GOP leaders and the White House for floating the rescission package right after pushing through a budget deal, saying Republicans were simply reacting to negative news coverage by conservative outlets.“The omnibus was a responsible agreement enacted into law with bipartisan votes and the president’s signature,” said Matthew Dennis, spokesman for House Appropriations Committee Democrats. “Calling for a do-over because you didn’t like the press coverage after the fact is the height of absurdity.”
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