Sen. Ron Johnson blocked the Senate from passing a bill Wednesday to restore $810 million in federal funding President Donald Trump nixed Friday without Congress’ consent and stop him from using the controversial budget tactic again.
Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Patty Murray of Washington asked on the Senate floor to swiftly pass a measure that would nullify Trump’s latest move to unilaterally cancel money Congress appropriated and prevent similar attempts by blocking the president from sending requests to claw back federal dollars less than 90 days before the cash expires.
While objecting to passing the bill, Johnson said he supports the president doing “whatever it takes” to reduce federal spending.
“Personally, I wish it was a lot larger,” the Wisconsin Republican, who chairs the Budget Committee, said of the sum Trump canceled Friday. “That money doesn’t have to be spent, and it shouldn’t be spent.”
Merkley, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, argued that Trump’s move is akin to exercising “a line-item veto” and taking “a wrecking ball” to the vision of the country’s founding fathers.
While Johnson objected to passing the bill, several prominent Republican lawmakers have slammed the Trump administration’s latest move to cancel federal funding and are discussing ways to head off another attempt.
Those Republican calls to stop Trump from employing the funding maneuver are a turnabout after more than a year of resistance to taking action. Democrats have repeatedly attempted to use funding bills to defend against this kind of eleventh-hour clawback but were rebuffed by Republicans.
“Time after time, they have shot down our attempts to stop this administration from defying Congress and robbing our constituents,” said Murray, who described Trump’s latest cancellation as “theft from the American people, plain and simple.”
