Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would consider legislation to rescind some spending included in the huge fiscal 2018 government funding bill that many Republicans opposed.
The Kentucky Republican did not signal whether he would support using the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which would allow the president to claw back some spending with a simple majority approval of both chambers. But he said such a bill is “worth discussing,” even if it is not certain to pass.
“I think it’s worth a discussion. Whether that’s an achievable is another matter, but certainly it’s worth discussing,” he said.
Republicans have faced significant criticism over the $1.3 trillion spending measure, known as the omnibus, which passed in March.
It included a $300 billion increase in federally mandated spending caps. It lifted domestic and military spending in a bipartisan deal that establishes spending levels through fiscal 2019.
President Trump is now talking about using a scalpel to scale back the measure.
“It’s no secret that the omnibus bill was larger than most Republicans would like, but it was a bipartisan negotiation,” McConnell said Tuesday following a weekly party lunch.
“The number we were fixated on was the defense number. We got what we wanted,” he said. “The Democrats had their demands, and it was a bipartisan agreement. Having said that, I’m willing to discuss with the administration the possibility of some kind of rescissions package.”
Trump will be sending a rescission package to Congress soon, economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Monday. It could cut about $117 billion in spending.
“We are looking at a rescission ‘enhanced’ package, I’m not going to use numbers, this is all around town,” Kudlow said.
