Trump allies push for more White House control over Congress’ purse strings

House GOP allies of President-elect Donald Trump are pushing for him to have greater control over Congress’ annual government spending process next year.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is introducing a bill on Monday that would repeal a measure that forces the president to direct the federal government to spend the full amount of money allocated by Congress every year.

Clyde told 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 in Trump’s circle.

“That was certainly a topic that was brought 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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“They’re in favor of it, because how can you be efficient and not have the ability to reduce spending? You simply can’t.”

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 aimed at stopping the president from having unilateral say over government spending.

Currently, a president must get congressional approval to rescind any funding that has been allocated for a certain year. The funds in question can be held for up to 45 days while the request gets processed.

“I think the authority is very, very important for the president to exercise,” Clyde said. “Ever since Congress introduced that act, you’ve seen spending literally spiraling upwards. 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 being introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Clyde said over a dozen House Republicans are backing his bill as well.

Musk and Ramaswamy advocated for Trump to have greater authority to rescind 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 cutting government waste.

The Georgia Republican acknowledged that the bill has long odds in the current Democrat-controlled Senate and with just one week left in the congressional term, but said he would “definitely” introduce it in the next Congress.

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Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, is against the idea. (Getty Images)

He described Monday’s introduction as “putting a flag in the ground, saying ‘Hey, this is an authority that the president should be able to use in an unhindered fashion, and we are going to help.’”

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However, the issue is likely to fall along partisan lines. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, responded to Musk and Ramaswamy’s op-ed by calling their ideas “as idiotic as they are dangerous.”

“Unilaterally slashing funds that have been lawfully appropriated by the people’s elected representatives in Congress would be a devastating power grab that undermines our economy and puts families and communities at risk,” Boyle said in a statement.