Bipartisan government funding is at risk of dying in Trump's Washington

Source: NBC News

July 20, 2025, 5:15 AM EDT


WASHINGTON — For many years, final decisions over how much the U.S. government spends, and how, have required sign-off from leaders of both parties, no matter who controlled the White House or Capitol Hill or the level of polarization. Now, that last vestige of the bipartisan funding process is at risk of dying after a one-two punch by President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress. The “appropriations” process, whereby both parties pass detailed funding bills for various federal agencies every year, has been in a slow decline for decades.

But recent moves by the Trump-era GOP to disrupt past funding agreements have accelerated that decline — and, in the view of Democrats and even some weary Republicans, undermined Congress’ power of the purse in deference to the White House. First, Republicans passed a $300 billion hike in military spending and immigration enforcement as part of Trump’s megabill; and second, they cut $9 billion in domestic money and foreign aid under a rarely used “rescission” process, allowing the GOP to cancel already approved bipartisan spending with a party-line vote.

A Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government or risk a shutdown will test whether a bipartisan deal is still possible, particularly as Trump’s top budget aide publicly calls for a more partisan approach. House Republicans have undermined the bipartisan path for years by slamming the resulting deals as “swamp” creations by a “uniparty” that is addicted to spending. Now, GOP lawmakers in both chambers are going it alone, suggesting they’ll bring more rescissions packages to undo past bipartisan spending agreements because the existing process is failing.

“We don’t have an appropriations process. It’s broken. It’s been broken for a while,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said Congress will likely fall back on continuing resolutions, which largely maintain the status quo, and rescission packages for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a senior appropriator, said the once-respected government funding process has “disappeared,” calling the latest rescissions package “a step backwards.” “It’s basically saying: No matter what you decide on, the president is going to be able to change the bill, even for money that’s been appropriated,” Durbin said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/bipartisan-government-funding-dying-trump-spending-cuts-shutdown-rcna219344