Murkowski: Vought ‘disrespects' the government funding process
'I think he disrespects it,' Murkowski said. 'I think he thinks that we are irrelevant, and I wish I had actually heard the speech.'
Vought drew attention Thursday for remarks he made at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, at which he said 'the appropriations process has to be less bipartisan.'
'There is no voter in the country that went to the polls and said, 'I'm voting for a bipartisan appropriations process,'' he said. 'That may be the view of something that appropriators want to maintain, and I want to have very good relationships with all Republican appropriators.'
As for Democratic appropriators, Vought said he's 'willing to work with' them 'if they conduct themselves with decorum.'
'I think it will lead to better results by having the appropriations process be a little bit partisan, and I don't think it's necessarily leading to a shutdown, I think we will be able to get to a good result,' he said, while criticizing how the appropriations process has been carried out in Congress thus far.
He also said the power of the purse remains with Congress, but he added, 'It's a ceiling. It is not a floor. It is not the notion that you have to spend every last dollar of that.'
'Two hundred years of presidents had the ability to spend less than appropriations and did,' he argued. 'It was not only precedent, but it was a part of how the original founders understood what they were separating, the powers between the executive and the legislative branch.'
Murkowski said later on Thursday that quotes she's seen in coverage of Vought's comments appear 'pretty dismissive of the appropriations process.'
She was also asked about the administration's plans to send Congress additional requests for cuts to funding previously approved by lawmakers.
Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that cuts roughly $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funds ahead of a looming Friday deadline. The Senate passed the rescissions package early Thursday morning, with Murkowski voting against it.
'I do not think that should be our path,' Murkowski, a senior GOP appropriator, said. 'It's not legislating. It's basically the White House saying this is what we want you to do. Take it or leave it.'
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