WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s move to unilaterally cancel another $5 billion in congressionally approved spending is drawing pushback from some Republicans, who warn that it is illegal and could increase the likelihood of a government shutdown.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said her team is “reviewing” its options to fight back against the Trump administration’s decision to use an uncommon tactic, known as a “pocket rescission," to cancel the funding.
“I was disappointed more than surprised, because it clearly is an end-run around Congress,” Collins said of Trump’s move, which she has called “a clear violation of the law.”
“We are looking at the options,” she told reporters. “Our chief counsel on the committee is going through the law and looking at what happened when Jimmy Carter, President Carter, tried this, and coming up with some options for us to look at.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the push by White House budget director Russell Vought is an “unlawful” end-run around Congress’s spending powers. Murkowski is another senior member of the Appropriations Committee that is responsible for doling out federal funding.
“You have a solid number of appropriators who are very concerned about the direction that the OMB director has taken with this pocket rescission,” Murkowski told reporters when the Senate returned on Tuesday. “This is going to be a focus in this week here as we try to figure out next steps.”
In an earlier social media post, Murkowski said: “These unilateral actions by OMB only threaten the good bipartisan work that has been done in committee and on the floor, and risk throwing the entire process into chaos.”
That concern is shared by other Republicans.
The rescissions “are a problem,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, of South Dakota.
“Because it gives our Democrat colleagues a reason not to work with us and to protest the bipartisan approach that we’ve taken on appropriations. So I do have a concern about it,” he said. “I think it’s going to make it much more difficult for us to pass a bipartisan appropriations bill.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he prefers to see spending decisions made in a bipartisan appropriations process in Congress, not via unilateral actions by the White House.
"Do I worry about the separation issue? Sure, I do. I think that Congress has every right to defend its Article I role," he said. "But at the same time, we have a powerful presidency. So we have to work through all this."
Cramer didn’t rule out joining a potential lawsuit in Congress to challenge the White House’s actions. “I wouldn’t say never,” he said. “I’ve participated in congressional lawsuits previously.”
Still, other Republicans are backing the administration.
“We’ve got $37 trillion in debt, and all the people screaming at the administration for breaching separation of power are missing the point,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who is also a member of the Appropriations Committee. “The point is, we need to reduce spending.”
Asked if he believes a future Democratic president could similarly use the rescission power — to cancel funding for a military base in Louisiana, or for the border wall, for example — Kennedy demurred: “That’s not happening. If that happens, I’ll deal with it. But that hasn’t happened.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a letter to colleagues that Trump is “waging an all-out war against Congress’s Article I authority and the constitutional balance of power.”
“Senate Republicans must decide: stand up for the legislative branch or enable Trump’s slide toward authoritarianism,” he said.
Schumer added that House and Senate Democrats are on the same page, unlike in March when Schumer and a group of senators in his caucus acceded to a GOP spending bill that ignored their priorities.
“I have spoken with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and we are aligned on our shared priorities for September,” Schumer wrote, adding that “where they threaten shutdown, we hold them accountable.”
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Trump’s move “makes it near impossible” for Democrats to support a government funding deal.
“That was done deliberately, not just to cut spending, but to signal that Trump wants a shutdown,” he said. “This is about whether Congress has any authority or not.”
The spending standoff could have political implications, too, by pitting Trump against Collins, who sits in a seat in liberal-leaning Maine and has yet to officially announce whether she’s running for re-election in 2026.
“I’ve never thought it noble to pick a fight with Susan Collins for anything, because I never prepare myself well enough to win,” Cramer quipped. “The political capital expended on some causes, I think, is not worth losing a fight over.”
