Republican President Trump of the United States recentlyUnilaterally canceled $4.90 billion in foreign aid approved by CongressThis has sparked opposition among Democrats and even some Republicans and has intensified the struggle around spending control.
Trump sent a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday saying he would not use $4.9 billion of foreign aid approved by Congress to stop funding 15 international projects.The White House Administration and Budget Office published the letter on social media platform X on the morning of the 29th.
According to a court document submitted on the 29th,The above $4.9 billion was allocated for foreign aid, UN peacekeeping operations and overseas democracy promotion., including $3.2 billion in aid funding from the United States Agency for International Development. The agency was officially closed in July.
According to Reuters, the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the right to allocate funds, and Congress passes legislation every year to provide funds for government operations. If the White House doesn't want to spend the money, it will have to get congressional approval,And Trump's latest move completely bypasses Congress。
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, argued that Mr. Trump had the authority to freeze funds for 45 days.
The Associated Press,Trump's move is based on a tactic not used in nearly 50 years, the so-called "pocket withdrawal"The President submitted a request to Congress at the close of the end of the fiscal year, requesting that the approved funds be discontinued.Congress could not respond within the 45-day deadline, and the funds would end up automatically void.。If the White House standardizes the move, it could effectively bypass Congress's decision on key spending and could seize some spending control from the House and Senate.
A White House official told reporters that Trump’s strategy had a “solid legal foundation” and that any legal challenge would fail.
Democrats warned that any attempt to revoke funds already approved by Congress would lead to the failure of negotiations to avert a federal government shutdown later this year. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said Mr. Trump's tactics were illegal and meant to signal his willingness to ignore any spending laws passed by Congress.Forces the federal government to shut down at the end of September。"Clearly, neither Trump nor congressional Republicans have any plan to avoid a painful and completely unnecessary (federal government) shutdown."
Some moderate Republicans have also opposed Trump’s call to halt spending that Congress has approved.Republican Senator Susan Collins, who represents Maine and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Trump's move was illegal. "Rather than trying to undermine the law, the appropriate approach is to find ways to reduce excessive spending through a bipartisan annual appropriations process," she said in a statement.
Since Trump took office in January this year, the United States has sharply cut foreign aid and has begun to cut down several federal agencies such as the U.S. International Development Agency, disrupting the operation of UN humanitarian agencies.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on the 29th that the latest move of the Trump administration "will make our budget situation or liquidity face greater challenges".
Source: CCTV news client side