President-elect Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the House are pushing for him to have more control over Congress’ annual spending process next year.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., introduced a bill Monday that would repeal a measure that requires the president to direct the federal government to spend the full amount of money 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 in Trump’s circle.
“This was definitely a topic that came up” with Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk when they were on Capitol Hill earlier this month to discuss government efficiency, Clyde said.
Republicans provide details of closed-door meetings with Musk, Ramaswamy
Some Republicans want to give President-elect Donald Trump more power over the appropriations process in Congress. (Chris Anger/Zova LLC)
“They support it, because how can you be effective if you don’t have the ability to cut spending? You just can’t.”
He also told a small group of reporters earlier this month that Trump’s Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought “is very supportive of it.”
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed during the Nixon administration and was intended to prevent the president from having a unilateral say over government spending.
Currently, the president must get congressional approval to rescind any funding appropriated for a given year. The money in question can be withheld for up to 45 days while the request is processed.
“I think that’s a very important thing for the president to do,” Clyde said. “Since Congress passed this law, I’ve literally seen spending go up. And that’s not good for our country.”
Daniel Binney to receive the Congressional Gold Medal from House GOP lawmaker Andrew Clyde
Clyde’s bill would repeal the Impoundment Control Act. A similar bill is being introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Clyde said more than a dozen House Republicans also support his bill.
Musk and Ramaswamy called for Trump to be given greater defunding power in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last month, after the president-elect appointed them to lead an advisory panel on cutting government waste.
The Georgia Republican acknowledged that the bill has long faced opposition in the current Democratic-controlled Senate, which has just one week left in the congressional term, but said he would “absolutely” introduce it in the next Congress.
Mike Johnson wins Republican support to be speaker of the House again after Trump endorses
Rep. Brendan Boyle
He described Monday’s introduction as “putting a flag on the ground, saying, ‘Hey, this is a power that the president should be able to use in an unfettered way, and we’re going to help.’”
However, the issue is likely to fall along party 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 stupid as they are dangerous.”
“Unilaterally cutting off funds that the people’s elected representatives in Congress have legally appropriated would be a devastating power grab that undermines our economy and puts families and communities at risk,” Boyle said in a statement.
Elizabeth Elkind is a political correspondent for Fox News Digital’s flagship House of Representatives coverage. Previous digital bylines have been seen in the Daily Mail and CBS News
