By Mitch Coppes, Federal Government Affairs Manager, Goodwill Industries International
Recently, the White House asked Congress to approve $9.4 billion in rescissions for already approved spending that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sought to eliminate, including funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid. While no funding for workforce or education programs was included in this request, White House officials indicated that they hope to build support on Capitol Hill for their efforts to cut “wasteful” government spending and that the Administration may seek additional recissions of existing program funds in the future.
The rescission process requires that the president get approval from Congress to withhold money that had previously been appropriated. The recission request can pass with just 50 votes in the Senate rather than the 60-vote threshold that is typically required to approve legislation. Congress now has 45 days to consider all or some of the proposed program funds to be rescinded. If lawmakers reject the rescission request or fail to act on the request by the end of that 45-day period, the Administration must release the funds. If the request is approved, it will enact in law many of the spending cuts and freezes that DOGE has recommended.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Trump Administration’s rescission request in the coming days. “This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE’s findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity,” said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). “Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.”
However, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, denounced the recission package and the Administration’s ongoing efforts to unilaterally cancel federal grants, contracts and other spending without congressional approval. “Congress must reject Trump’s request to cut off local news broadcasts and weaken our national security,” said Murray. “It must also be said: in asking Congress to rescind some of the funding he has been illegally blocking for months, Trump is conceding what we’ve known all along: that Congress—not the President—must approve the rescission or withholding of investments that were signed into law.”
