Republican allies of newly-elected President Donald Trump are pushing for him to have more control over Congress’s annual budget government expenditure process next year.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is introducing a bill Monday that would repeal a measure that forces the president to direct the federal government to spend the full amount Congress appropriates each year.
Clyde told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he also plans to introduce the bill in the next Congress, when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House — and that the issue is already being discussed within Trump’s inner circle.
“That was certainly a topic that came up” with Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk when they were on Capitol Hill earlier this month to discuss the Department of Government Efficiency, Clyde said.
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Some Republicans want to give President-elect Donald Trump more control over Congress’ appropriations process. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“They’re in favor of it because how can you be efficient and not have the ability to reduce expenses? That’s just not possible.”
He also told a small group of reporters earlier this month that incoming Trump Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought “is very much in favor of this.”
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed during the Nixon administration and was intended to prevent the president from having unilateral control over government spending.
Currently, a president must get permission from Congress to withdraw all funding appropriated for a given year. The funds in question may be held for up to 45 days while the request is processed.
“I think it’s very important for the president to exercise this authority,” Clyde said. “Since Congress passed that law, you’ve literally seen spending go up. And that’s just not good for our country.”
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Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is leading the charge to repeal the Impoundment Control Act. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Clyde’s bill would roll back the Impoundment Control Act. A corresponding bill is submitted by the Senate Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Clyde said more than a dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives also support his bill.
Musk and Ramaswamy advocated for Trump to be given more authority to withdraw funding in an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal last month, after the president-elect tapped them to lead an advisory panel on reducing government waste .
The Georgia Republican acknowledged that the bill has long odds in the current Democratic-controlled Senate and with just a week left in Congress’ term, but said he would “certainly” introduce it in the next Congress.
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Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, opposes the idea. (Getty Images)
He described Monday’s introduction as “putting a flag in the ground and saying, ‘Hey, this is an authority that the president should be able to use unhindered, and we’re going to help.'”
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However, it is likely that the issue will fall along partisan lines. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat House Budget Committeeresponded to Musk and Ramaswamy’s opinion by calling their ideas “as idiotic as they are dangerous.”
“Unilaterally cutting funds lawfully appropriated by our elected representatives in Congress would be a devastating power grab that undermines our economy and endangers families and communities,” Boyle said in a statement.
