The White House is poised to back down on sending Congress a second package of spending rescissions, a GOP lawmaker said Wednesday.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters the Trump administration is signaling it won’t send the package, which would claw back appropriated spending.
“I doubt they are going to do the rescission piece,” Corker said. “I think they’ve had enough pushback where that likely will not happen.”
In June, two GOP lawmakers blocked a vote to advance a $15 billion rescission package that passed the House. The money was considered dormant and would never have been spent, but it nonetheless drew opposition from all Democrats as well as Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Richard Burr, R-N.C.
Burr objected to the rescission of $16 million in conservation money.
The Trump administration wants a rescission package to fight backlash against a $1.3 trillion spending bill the president signed into law in March.
Corker said it’s unlikely to happen because GOP lawmakers don’t want it.
“We understand it’s moving in the right direction,” Corker said, characterizing the talks. He couldn’t guarantee a package won’t land on the steps of Congress anyway.
“They might have done something in the last five minutes; I don’t know,” Corker said.
