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Susan Collins joins Dems to rip Trump for using rare budgetary tactic to cut wasteful spending

September 26, 2026 | | Print Article

Frequent turncoat Sen. Susan Collins has joined Democrats in complaining about the Trump administration giving almost $1 billion back to the people.

The White House announced on Friday that it plans to send $810 million in already congressionally approved funding back to Congress (meaning essentially back to the people) using a technique known as pocket rescissions.

Why is the White House giving the money back? Because the money was allocated to “the most harmful government” programs, including healthcare and welfare for illegal aliens, according to a White House statement.

For example, $567 million was allocated for “pro-illegal immigration programs and Non-Governmental Organizations that provided services to refugees, asylees, and other non-citizens and put unaccompanied children.”

Another $15 million was allocated to provide “funding to NGOs for legal services, mental health services, and cultural orientation to illegal aliens, asylees, and other non-citizens.”

It’s obvious to see why the Trump administration wants to give this money back. What’s less clear is why Collins has a problem with that.

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Look what she tweeted late Friday:

In the tweet, Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the administration’s move “unlawful.”

“This is the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse,” she whined. “This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.”

“The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act,” she added. “Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”

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Her opposition to the move prompted massive backlash.

Look (*Language warning):

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Guess who else joined her chorus of complaints …

Top Democrats!

“With this rescissions package, the Trump administration is illegally stripping nearly $1 billion in critical funding that supports kids, K-12 students, small businesses, and health and clean air research,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

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Sen. Patty Murray, Collins’ Democrat underling on the Appropriations Committee, meanwhile called the move a “theft from the American people” as she railed against OMB Director Russ Vought.

“Russ Vought’s message to Congress is that your votes don’t count, and your laws are optional,” she said in a statement. “It is now time for my Republican colleagues who said they would never let this happen to stand up and join us to stop this, and remind this administration this is not how this works.”

According to critics, it’s awfully hard these days to tell the difference between so-called Republicans like Collins and Democrats like Schumer and Murray.

Vivek Saxena
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