Murray, DeLauro Statement on Supreme Court’s Preliminary Ruling on Trump’s “Pocket Rescission” Gambit

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's preliminary ruling that allows President Trump to continue withholding billions in foreign assistance approved by Congress-including amounts which he is illegally seeking to cancel through a "pocket rescission." The ruling is not a final decision on whether the president can unilaterally cancel funding approved by Congress via a "pocket rescission."

"Congress can-and absolutely should-promptly reject President Trump and Russ Vought's illegal effort to do an end run around the people's elected representatives by passing a bill like the one we introduced last week. Republicans should join Democrats to stand up for our power of the purse, rather than allow a president and an unelected bureaucrat who do not respect Congress or the Constitution to continue attacking our power to fight for the people back home that we represent."

Late last month, President Trump and Russ Vought submitted a rescissions request of $4.9 billion under the fast-tracked process provided by the Impoundment Control Act. But because the funds at issue are set to expire on October 1^st and the rescissions request was made with fewer than the 45 days the fast-tracked process affords Congress to consider the request, Trump and Vought absurdly and illegally claim they are able to cancel it unilaterally.

Congress can extend the period of availability of the $4.9 billion in funding that Trump and Vought have sought to cancel in order to reject their absurd gambit, which top Republicanlawmakers -as well as the Government Accountability Office (GAO)-have made clear is illegal. The continuing resolution (CR) that Senator Murray and Congresswoman DeLauro introduced last week does exactly that: it extends the availability of the funds at issue to reject the president's illegal ploy to do an end run around Congress.

Senator Murray's statement in response to President Trump's "pocket rescission" request can be found HERE. Congresswoman DeLauro's can be found HERE.

More information on the CR that Congresswoman DeLauro and Senator Murray introduced last week, which would reject President Trump's "pocket rescission," is available HERE.

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