03.25.25

Senator Murray Statement on Trump’s Sweeping New Illegal Cuts to Critical National Security Initiatives

Trump seeks to gut funding to: combat global narcotics trade, support allies’ defenses, strengthen American competitiveness, and more

 

Illegal move threatens billions of dollars more for Americans’ housing, NASA, and other critical programs

 

Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, issued the following statement on illegal cuts President Trump sought to make on Monday to critical investments in America’s national security and competitiveness, which were enacted into law under the yearlong continuing resolution (CR) he signed earlier this month.

 

“In the latest installment of the president’s campaign to defy our laws and jeopardize our national security in the process, President Trump is attempting to choke off critical investments to combat the flow of fentanyl globally, slash support for the defense of American allies, weaken the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, set back next-generation weather forecasting, and much more. Trump is even slashing investments to help communities that are too often left behind finally get ahead–and his illegal move threatens billions of dollars more in funding to help people keep a roof over their head.

 

“Cutting off these resources will devastate ongoing national security initiatives that advance our interests across the globe, and I trust Presidents Xi and Putin thank Trump for this latest gift he has delivered them.

 

“What President Trump has just done is wrongheaded, counterproductive, and unlawful, and I hope my colleagues in Congress join me in working to protect these investments and ensure the law is followed.”

 

In the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, Congress included $12.5 billion in emergency funding for key priorities as allowed by the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) agreement. Congress routinely includes funds designated as emergency, which are not subject to statutory spending caps, in its spending laws—in both annual funding bills and legislation like the disaster relief package passed in December. House Republicans’ yearlong fiscal year 2025 continuing resolution, which was approved by nearly every Republican Member of Congress and signed into law earlier this month, continued the vast majority of emergency funding included in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations laws.

 

When statutory caps on discretionary funding are in effect—as they are now under the FRA—Congress has been careful to ensure emergency funding it provides is also designated by the president as emergency funding in order to prevent a sequester of discretionary funding under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, which would result in across-the-board cuts. This is a decades-old practice that has been followed without incident under Democratic and Republican presidents alike. But the law is very clear: the President must certify all or none of the emergency funds provided by Congress. Presidents cannot pick and choose which funds to designate as emergency and keep flowing, as President Trump has now unlawfully done by certifying some but not all of the emergency funding provided for fiscal year 2025. House Republicans’ fiscal year 2025 CR cites fiscal year 2024 appropriations laws that state emergency funding shall be made available “only if the President subsequently so designates all such amounts and transmits such designations to the Congress.” Section 1110 of the fiscal year 2025 CR continues these requirements, which the President is now flouting–effectively seeking to exercise a line-item veto of emergency funding that he simply does not have.

 

President Trump’s illegal cuts will seriously harm ongoing national security initiatives that keep our country safe and competitive. 

 

In refusing to designate $2.934 billion of the $12.4 billion in emergency funding provided under House Republicans’ yearlong CR, President Trump is attempting to choke off critical investments that keep America and our allies safe. This includes:

 

  • $115 million cut to the State Department’s work combatting international fentanyl and narcotics trade, human trafficking, and other crimes across the globe that impact American communities and other U.S. national security interests.
  • $275 million cut to foreign military financing that enables eligible partner nations to purchase U.S.-made weapons, promoting U.S. interests and security cooperation.
  • $1.5 billion cut (-17%) to lifesaving U.S. humanitarian assistance.
  • $310 million cut (-40%) to U.S. assistance in Europe and Eurasia, which is critical to counter-Russia efforts.
  • $300 million cut to economic growth programs that Congress established to increase investment in secure supply chains, digital connectivity and security, and other critical sectors, including to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses.
  • $50 million cut to the International Trade Administration’s work to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. industry abroad and ensure fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. These resources play a critical role in U.S. efforts to counter the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and other competitors and adversaries.
  • $20 million cut (-10.5%) to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s vital work advancing U.S. national security through vigilant export controls and the promotion of continued U.S. leadership in technology. These resources play a critical role in U.S. efforts to counter the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and other competitors and adversaries.
  • $30 million cut (-7.5%) to the Economic Development Administration’s investments in economically distressed communities across the U.S. and its ongoing work to build durable regional economies across the country.
  • $100 million cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) procurement, acquisition, and construction budget, which—among other things—funds the procurement of next-generation weather radars and satellites that play an indispensable role in providing the American people with accurate weather forecasting.
  • $234 million cut (-100%) to the National Science Foundation’s equipment and facilities construction budget, which funds essential upgrades to and construction of new, cutting-edge scientific facilities. This funding supports the new Leadership-Class Computing Facility based in Texas to facilitate and support domestic AI research, the Antarctic Infrastructure Recapitalization, and other projects advancing American innovation, discovery, and security.

 

President Trump’s illegal attempt to cherry-pick what emergency funding moves–when the law clearly states that the President must certify all or none of the emergency funding provided by Congress–threatens the availability of the entire $12.4 billion in emergency funding provided for fiscal year 2025, which includes more than $9 billion in funding for other critical programs. None of the emergency funding is available to be spent under the law until the President designates all of it. This includes funding for: 

 

  • Critical rental assistance that serves more than 7 million people, ensuring they keep a roof over their heads at a time when homelessness and housing unaffordability have hit an all-time high;
  • Salaries of Drug Enforcement Administration agents who are combatting the fentanyl crisis;
  • Ongoing NASA missions, including the Artemis mission to return Americans to the Moon;
  • More.

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