White House moves to freeze some foreign aid, defying Congress in Trump's final days

[Zorro]

Trump had criticized foreign aid that was included in a recent spending bill he signed into law.

The White House is preparing to temporarily freeze some foreign aid during President Trump’s final days in office, two people with knowledge of the planning said, slowing down funds already approved by Congress.

The Trump administration can’t unilaterally cancel the funding, but it can bog the process down by asking Congress to claw the money back. Lawmakers will likely reject this request, but the act of asking Congress to recoup the money allows the White House to freeze it until Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.

Trump has long complained about U.S. taxpayer money going to other countries, but Congress has repeatedly blocked him from doing anything about it.

The move to freeze the money was conveyed in a notice this week from the White House Office of Management and Budget to U.S. government officials who work on foreign aid programs. The OMB officials told the agencies that the White House was working on a package of spending freezes, said the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal communications.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/12/31/trump-foreign-aid-freeze/