House Republicans are privately negotiating with the White House over the makeup of President Donald Trump’s forthcoming request to nix $9.3 billion already allocated for the State Department, foreign aid and public broadcasting.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters Wednesday night that top Republicans are in “robust discussion — back and forth discussion” with the White House about which programs will be targeted under the so-called rescissions request Trump plans to send Congress.
“We’re talking about different things, but looking at different ways to get to basically the same number,” Cole said. “It’s give and take. And if they want to move quickly, that’s up to them.”
Across the Capitol, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Wednesday night that she has had one conversation with White House budget director Russ Vought about the request but has not seen specifics.
Republican leaders and White House officials need to decide whether it’s most advantageous to vote on the cutbacks alongside their party-line megabill or to wait.
“They’ve got a weigh whether it’s held for reconciliation,” Cole said. “That’s up to them.”
Aligning the timing of the two bills could please fiscal hawks with the guarantee of more overall funding cuts. But if leaders struggle to whip enough votes for the rescissions package, failure to approve more than $9 billion in funding reductions could risk alienating those same fiscal conservatives GOP leaders need to bring on board with the separate megabill of tax cuts tied to hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending.
Once the rescissions request is sent, it starts a 45-day clock, not counting when Congress is in recess for more than three days.
The package is not subject to the fillibuster and can pass the Senate on a simple-majority vote. But if Congress doesn’t pass it in time, Trump is legally required to spend the money.
The White House confirmed last month that Trump intends to send the package of cutbacks, which would be the first such request to land at the Capitol since 2018, when the Senate rejecting Trump’s rescissions package totaling about $15 billion.
Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.