YOU Read THAT Right…
Republicans (And some Democrats) are gonna grill the US Sec of State WTF he ain’t sending money to place the Congress has told him to….
Congressional Lawmakres are NOT Happy with some of the Trump Admin policy moves that look Good to some one way, on it’s face….
But?
Harms America and Foreign programs and people in Need on the other end…..
The Trump Admin has gotten around orders to resume the USAID Foreign Programs by firing the people that handle and work the program…
Oh?
And ignoring members of Congress , thinking what can actually do to stop the President from doing ‘His Own Thing’.?…
The senators have also asked Rubio to defend the freeze in a hearing on Capitol Hill in the coming weeks.
The letters were dated earlier this month and sent by members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. They mark some of the first signs of meaningful — if private — GOP pushback to the Trump administration’s striking encroachment on Congress’s power of the purse and betray some frustration with Rubio’s lack of responsiveness to his former colleagues….
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Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service have frozen and canceled hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending that’s been appropriated by Congress, sparking a flurry of lawsuits and yet little public outrage from GOP members on the Hill. On Wednesday night, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court’s deadline for the government to resume nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments….
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GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote to Rubio earlier this month with their Democratic colleagues that although they supported the secretary of state’s right to review federal programs and eliminate waste and abuse, they were “concerned” that Rubio and the State Department had not notified and consulted with Congress as it gutted USAID and canceled foreign aid programs, which they noted is required by law.
Graham, a close Trump ally, has publicly supported the gutting of USAID while also saying he supports foreign aid generally as a tool of U.S. power and influence abroad….
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“We are alarmed by reports that food is at risk of rotting in ports, lifesaving medicines are stuck in warehouses, and counterterrorism programs are being suspended, including in Somalia,” they wrote. “We suspect personnel actions at USAID and your Department … combined with unclear guidance to Department and USAID contracting officers, have created confusion that prevents funds from being quickly disbursed for vital programs that have received waivers.”
They asked Rubio to brief the committee within days and also to provide a comprehensive list of program terminations and waivers.
“We know that as a former appropriator, you understand well the concerns we raise today,” they said. “And as your former colleagues, we look forward to hearing from you and working with you in your new role.” Sens. Patty Murray (Washington), Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) were the Democrats on the letter….
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The letter went unanswered, and Graham and Schatz, the two highest-ranking lawmakers on the subcommittee overseeing foreign aid, then wrote to Rubio on Friday to demand he not take any “irreversible and costly actions” related to USAID staff that could damage programs vital to U.S. national security until the 90-day review period had elapsed. They also asked for a briefing for committee staff from Peter Marocco, the official at the State Department in charge of foreign assistance….
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