Murray on GAO Concluding Trump’s Pocket Rescission is Illegal

ICYMI: Murray Slams Trump for Illegal Impoundment

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) concluding today that President Trump’s latest attempt to impound funding approved by Congress is illegal.

“President Trump is breaking the law and stealing from the American taxpayer. He knows it, and the top nonpartisan government watchdog just confirmed what we’ve known all along: this so-called pocket rescission scheme is illegal. This is a con and nothing short of an assault on our Constitution.

“The question is not whether this is illegal; it’s whether Republicans will finally join Democrats to defend Congress’ power of the purse and ensure our constituents get the investments they are owed by law. If Republicans continue to allow a president to treat our votes and our laws like a suggestion, that’s what they will become.”

On Friday night, President Trump announced his intention to permanently impound over $800 million in congressionally-approved funding by allowing the funds to expire at the end of the fiscal year and before Congress has the opportunity to act on his rescission request. This includes resources for lifesaving health research, important education programs, housing, and more.

Democrats have repeatedly sought to bar the Trump administration from so much as attempting this illegal maneuver—when marking up draft Senate spending bills, in votes on the floor, and in negotiations over spending packages, including negotiations over the continuing resolution that was recently signed into law.

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