While the nation was distracted by the political theater around immigration before the July 4 recess, the Senate cast a critical vote killing a very modest attempt offered by President Trump to rein in spending. If Trump plays his cards right, this will not be the end of a fight but its start.
The package in dispute was a $15 billion rescission or spending cut package the president presented to Congress in May. Very little of Trump's package were true cuts. Only about $1 billion in outlays would be reduced according to the Congressional Budget Office. The rest the package pulled back unspent funds for not-so-urgent federal priorities like promoting chocolate covered peanuts and maintaining idle advanced technology loan programs.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney chastised Congress for refusing to back even meager cuts. Mulvaney said, “The American people should be asking their representatives in Washington one simple question: If they cannot pass good-government legislation to recapture unnecessary funds, how can we ever expect them to address Washington's staggering debt and deficit problem?”
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