Top congressional appropriators are pushing back against the Trump administration’s selective implementation of emergency funds from the recent stopgap funding bill, arguing it violates congressional intent.
Collins and Murray Demand Compliance
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to OMB Director Russ Vought, criticizing the administration’s decision to withhold funding from 11 of the bill’s 27 emergency appropriations accounts.
“It is incumbent on all of us to follow the law as written — not as we would like it to be,” the senators wrote.
Collins had previously warned that the administration risked lawsuits if it disregarded congressional spending directives.
Concerns Over Executive Overreach
The senators emphasized that funding bills signed into law must be fully implemented and that the executive branch lacks authority to pick and choose spending allocations.
“Just as the President does not have a line-item veto, he does not have the ability to pick and choose which emergency spending to designate.”
They also criticized OMB’s sudden shift in interpreting spending laws, warning it could disrupt future bipartisan negotiations.
House Democrats Accuse OMB of Violating Funding Guardrails
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the House Appropriations ranking member, sent a separate letter, arguing that OMB’s actions defy explicit language added by Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ensuring full implementation.
“The Administration must either take all of the money, or they get none of the money,” DeLauro wrote.
She warned that Vought’s guidance could expose federal officials to personal liability for failing to follow the law.
Uncertain Path Forward
It remains unclear how Congress will respond if the White House continues to resist full funding, but the bipartisan backlash signals potential legal and political battles ahead.
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