WASHINGTON _ The White House is scaling back its plan to seek cuts from already-passed spending bills in the face of resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and spending panel Republicans, two GOP congressional aides briefed on the plan said Thursday.
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney plans to ask Congress on Monday to cancel $11 billion in unspent money from prior years, a much lower figure than the $63 billion request originally floated to Congress last month. The new request won't touch the $1.3 trillion fiscal 2018 spending bill Trump reluctantly signed in March, according to the aides.
Instead, funds will come from the 2009 Obama stimulus package, Energy Department loan and advanced vehicle manufacturing programs, and the Affordable Care Act, one of the aides said.
A Trump administration official said discussions are continuing and the final number hasn't been fixed, adding that the proposal is intended to be the first in a series.
Once the request _ known as a rescission _ is made, Congress will have 45 session days to consider it. During that time, the spending in those accounts is frozen. A rescission request can't be blocked by the minority party in the Senate, meaning it could pass with just 50 Republican votes, without any Democratic support.
McConnell said last month that he opposed reopening the fiscal 2018 spending deal that Republicans reached with Democrats. That message was also sent to the White House from Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama and his House counterpart, Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey.
The omnibus spending package has proved unpopular with Republican voters because it increased spending by nearly $200 billion. Since then, the House unsuccessfully tried to pass a balanced budget amendment and also signaled Thursday that it's developing a resolution in the Budget Committee to get the deficit under control.
