|
Trump's budget director, Mick Mulvaney, told reporters on
Tuesday he would be instructing agencies to outline how they
will comply with the president's budget, which slashed spending
for foreign aid and many domestic programs.
The federal hiring freeze imposed shortly after Trump entered
office will be lifted on Wednesday, but agencies will be asked
to remain mindful of Trump's goal to reduce the federal
workforce, Mulvaney said during a briefing.
Mulvaney acknowledged that the president's budget would have to
be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, where
lawmakers from both parties have balked at some of the drastic
reductions.
"One of the reasons this is so difficult to do is you just can't
wave a magic wand in the Oval Office and do these things,"
Mulvaney said. "There will be certain things for which we will
need legislative authority."
In the bare bones budget issued last month, the White House did
not offer many specific details on how the budget cuts would be
achieved.
Mulvaney will ask departments to fill in some of those blanks.
Preliminary plans are due from departments in June, with the
final versions expected in September.
Not every department gets a cut under Trump's plan. Mulvaney
stressed that some agencies including the Department of Defense
and Veterans Affairs department will be able to beef up their
workforce.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
