04/19/2018

Administration Wants Cuts from $1.3 Trillion Omnibus

Congressional conservatives do not like the increase in non-defense spending

The White House is reportedly developing a proposal to cut billions of dollars from the massive spending package that Congress passed in late March.

Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has taken the lead on the administration’s proposal and expects to release his plan around May 1. The administration is proposing to slash anywhere from $30 billion to $60 billion from the $1.3 trillion spending bill, according to POLITICO.

In a statement, Mulvaney said the White House “will work with like-minded partners on Capitol Hill to see how we can reduce wasteful Washington spending within the law.”

President Donald Trump threatened to veto the omnibus at the last minute because it included just $1.6 billion for construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, far short of the $25 billion that the administration sought. Trump is also getting blowback from conservatives in Congress who do not like the increase in non-defense spending.

Even as he was signing the bill in March, Trump said, “I will never sign another bill like this again.”

While the White House rescission plan may find support in the House, it is unlikely to move in the Senate where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the $1.3 trillion omnibus was the result of an agreement between Republican and Democratic lawmakers and the White House.

“Well, he agreed to it, you know,” McConnell said of Trump in a Fox News interview this week. “He was involved in the negotiation and signed the bill. You can’t make an agreement one month and say, ‘Okay, we really didn’t mean it'.”

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.