Senate Republican challenged Trump on funding moves

Donald Trump is already fighting Democrats on just about every move he makes, but now he has another challenge.

The Republican chair of a committee is challenging Trump on some of his emergency funding moves, creating even more problems for Trump.

Budget Talks

As I am sure most of you already know, Donald Trump wants to pass one big, beautiful bill for his next budget.

While I normally do not support reconciliation or massive spending bills, I do understand the strategy, as it is likely the only way Trump will be able to get funding for his agenda to pass.

Having said that, there is a lot of conflict within the party on this front, as Senate Republicans and House Republicans are struggling to get on the same page in regard to the structure of the budget.

That problem is now getting even more complicated.

Spending the Money

There is no doubt that Congress has the constitutional right to allocate funds, but what if they allocate too much money?

The big question being asked right now is if the president has the right to not spend that money even if Congress has allocated it.

To that point, on Monday, Trump upset the apple cart by saying he would not spend the $3 billion approved by Congress for emergency needs that goes back to the June 2023 spending package.

In a letter to Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a group of Senators stated, “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.”

Collins Joins Democrats

Collins has always been a thorn in the side of Trump, but now she is partnering with Democrat senators in that letter mentioned above. And this is far from the first time she has put up a roadblock for Trump.

While she is siding with Dems, requiring Trump to spend the money, most Republicans are backing Trump on this.

For example, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), who is the House Budget Committee Chair, stated, “Congress often uses ‘emergency’ designations to shell out more money than needed, hiding the reality of increased spending from the American people. I applaud President Trump for bucking the swampy status quo and cutting billions of dollars in wasteful and unnecessary spending on behalf of the American taxpayer.”

I am with Trump, but only if the funding is not needed. If this is wasteful spending for aid not needed, why would we just spend it for the sake of spending it? Is the hubris in Congress so rampant that they do not think they are capable of overestimating needs? Here is the solution… justify the need to spend the money and if it is found to be accurate, Trump can sign the check. Otherwise, put the money back in the bank.