06.03.25

Merkley Statement on Trump’s Request to Codify Illegal, Disastrous DOGE Cuts to Foreign Aid, NPR and PBS

Trump Administration’s Actions of Impounding Funds Remains Illegal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee and senior member of the Senate Appropriations and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, released the below statement after the Trump Administration sent Congress a rescissions package that would implement disastrous cuts made illegally and unconstitutionally by the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”

The Trump Administration is currently unconstitutionally impounding funds, including by attempting to dissolve the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a blatantly illegal act given the lack of Congress’s approval, and subsequently opening the door for our adversaries like China and Russia to fill the void. The submission of this rescissions package does not negate the fact that the Trump Administration’s actions have violated the law. It remains clear that the Administration has taken several illegal actions to impound funds and trample on Congress’s authority. Also, included in the rescissions package are cuts to NPR and PBS.

“These illegal cuts to the State Department and USAID do one thing: make America less safe. Donald Trump and Elon Musk claim that our foreign aid programs are riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse, which is simply dishonest and untrue. Foreign assistance plays a central role in combating extremism, promoting stability, mitigating disease, and protecting our homeland.

“And to defund national, fact-based broadcasting outlets like NPR and PBS – claiming they promote ‘propaganda’ is absurd and just another part of Trump’s war on the truth. In reality, these cuts will make it harder for local radio and television stations across the country, stations that hardworking families rely on, to continue operating.

“I am calling on my colleagues in the House and Senate to reject these rescissions and to start holding Trump and DOGE accountable for the illegal actions they have taken to impound funds and subvert Congress’s power of the purse. I will not vote to rubber stamp DOGE’s reckless actions that hurt workers and families,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley.

In April, Merkley called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a comprehensive audit of the foreign policy and national security implications of the Trump Administration’s recent actions to terminate foreign assistance programs, downsize the State Department, and attempt to dissolve USAID. Merkley has continued to sound the alarm on the Trump Administration’s illegal actions—pointing out how these actions will have serious ramifications on the United States’ diplomatic, economic, and security objectives going forward—all while benefiting foreign adversaries, like China and Russia.

Additionally, Merkley, along with Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, requested that GAO investigate several funding suspensions ordered by President Trump to determine their legality under the Impoundment Control Act. GAO previously concluded that Trump violated the Impoundment Control Act in 2020 when he withheld military assistance from Ukraine.

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