AP Interview: McConnell rejects Trump's foreign aid cuts

Associated Press ^ | Mar 21, 2017 3:02 PM EDT | Erica Werner

[Olog-hai]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday shot down prospects for major parts of President Donald Trump’s budget, rejecting proposed cuts to foreign aid and medical research.

“Every president sends up a budget, and with all due respect to the current president, I can’t recall any time in which we have been sort of dictated to by either a Republican or a Democratic president,” McConnell said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’ll put our own imprint on it, particularly with regard to overseas.” […]

“America being a force is a lot more than building up the Defense Department,” McConnell said. “Diplomacy is important, extremely important, and I don’t think these reductions at the State Department are appropriate because many times diplomacy is a lot more effective — and certainly cheaper — than military engagement.”

On another spending issue, McConnell said the politics of the moment mean Republicans controlling Washington won’t touch benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security, known as entitlements. …

[Olog-hai]

Another one who abrogates the adage about diplomacy sans force being like music without instruments. Never mind Mitch suddenly forgetting about having foreign policy being “sort of dictated to” him by Obama.

[silverleaf]

Something woke up,that post turtle ?

Shame

[JayGalt]

Bye Bye Turtle.

[manc]

Replace his wife with someone who is not connected to him

[stocksthatgoup]

So who is funding the Senator?

[stocksthatgoup]

BTTT

[ManHunter]

Silly me, and here I thought foreign policy was the purview of the president - at least according to Article II of that Constitution thing...

Anyway, foreign aid has bought us a lot of support and good with countries like N. Korea, Iran, etc....

[dp0622]

I reject McConnell.

I don’t have the right to criticize coming from NY, but I don’t know why these states keep sending mcCain and McConnell and Linda and Ryan back to congress.

I heard it’s because of open primaries and/or split conservative primary vote.

[DoughtyOne]

Why is it that guys like this bastard, McCain, Graham, and Rubio can only show signs of having a back-bone, when it’s a Republican president?

I didn’t hear a peep out of them for eight freakin years, unless it was to fund terrorists or support something else whacked out Obama wanted.

This is the McConnell I’ve come to know and despise.

Between him and Ryan, who needs Democrats. These two will carry all the Democrat water they need or want.

[blueplum]

I see. Submitting a budget is ‘dictating’ ? Sit down you old doddard. It’s not about you, or congress, it’s about what American people are fed up paying for.

[lodi90]

I’ve had enough of this disrespect of POTUS. Democrat leadership never talked this way about Obama. McConnell and the rest of the beltway GOP pigs need a punch in the mouth. POTUS needs to invite Bernie to the White House to discuss “campaign finance reform”. That would be an excellent shot across their bow that should keep them onside and playing for Team Trump.

[Yogafist]

Is he willing to shut down the government to keep it?

[butlerweave]

Mitch and the same old same old

[Rome2000]

LOL

Either Trump or this scumbag doesn’t survive the next 4 years.

Wouldn’t bet the farm on Mitch.

AMERICA FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[deadrock]

Line item veto.

[heterosupremacist]

I have despised Senate Majority Leader Bitch McConnell for many years, yet he continues to become increasingly despicable/tiresome/ineffectual as time goes by... Team Trump needs to lay the smack down! MAGA! 8O)

[faithhopecharity]

some foreign aid for our allies, yes. but all the $$ we send overseas? no.

tin pot dicators and islamic terrorist murder gangs like PLO-pa should get no help from us at all. none.

and a lady we know just came back from emergency hospitalization for starvation, she fainted from hunger but the hospital saved her and she is home okay again. here in USA. the welfare aid is insufficient so she fed her family first and this is what happened.

[publius911]

AP Interview: McConnell rejects Trump's foreign aid cuts...

OK.
I'm sure the question must have been asked before.

What would it take to force McConnell to go away and stay away?

[Robert DeLong]

On the basis of the Constitution and traditional legislative prerogatives, Congress lays claim to exclusive control over the purse. Nevertheless, while it is up to Congress to appropriate funds, it is also true that the President and the executive branch enjoy considerable discretion as to how those funds are spent. Existing studies tell us how the President formulates the budget and how Congress acts on the budget requests he submits. Surprisingly, we know relatively little about how the money, once appropriated, is actually spent. A notable exception in this field is a work by Lucius Wilmerding, Jr., published three decades ago.

Presidential Spending Discretion and Congressional Controls

Click on the second one down that has: {PDF} Spending Discretion and Congressional Control

It will download a PDF t your computer that is approximately 30 pages from a book. Haven't fully read the PDF but I am thinking it is up to the President to actually spend the money there or not.

There are also other links that look to be promising, also of PDF's, following the one mentioned above.

[Zenjitsuman]

HEY, TURDLE, CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.

HEY, TURDLE, YOU DIDN’T STOP OBAMA’S OBSCENE SPENDING AND WE HAVE A 20 TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT.

WE GIVE AID TO FAKE PALESTINIAN PLO/HAMAS , MEXICO GETS AID
WE GAVE AID TO N. KOREA.

AND I DON’T LIKE BLANKET AID TO EVEN THE MILITARY, UNTIL THEY GET RID OF WASTE, AND DRAIN THE SWAMP OF DOD AND PENTAGON CORRUPTION.

BUT LETS LET THE BUSINESSMAN TRUMP RUN THINGS, TURDLE ALL YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IS PASS CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS.
WHEN DID YOU PASS A REAL BUDGET WITH TINY OR NO DEFICIT?