President Donald Trump is looking to slow some foreign aid approved in a $2.3 trillion spending bill approved by Congress last week, using bureaucratic tactics to delay the funding he decried in a speech before signing the measure, The Washington Post reported Friday citing unidentified sources.
The move was officially begun earlier this week in a notice from the Office of Management and Budget to officials working on U.S. foreign aid programs, the Post said citing two anonymous people ''with knowledge of the planning.''
OMB told U.S. agencies that handle the foreign aid that the White House was working on a package of spending freezes and that exactly which items that were to be delayed would come in the upcoming days.
Trump signed the spending bill Sunday, which was billed as a package of relief/stimulus items to mitigate the economic impacts of the restrictions and other consequences of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. That $900 billion portion however was combined with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package that included general funding through September.
Among the items Trump condemned as a ''disgrace'' and ''wasteful'' were $1.3 billion for Egypt — much of which he said will go to buy Russian military equipment, $25 million for gender programs in Pakistan and $40 million for the Kennedy Center in Washington which is not open due to COVID-19.
After signing the bill, Trump said he would demand ''recissions'' under the Impoundment Control Act, which allows him to delay funding after notifying Congress of the proposed cuts and the reasons for it. If Congress does not approve within 45 days, the money is spent as allocated.
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