Congressional Democrats lost one of their most valuable tools to counter President Donald Trump when they agreed to avoid "poison pills" as part of their two-year budget agreement, Politico reports.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made a handshake agreement with Republican leaders, including Trump, to only allow bipartisan policy riders in spending bills for fiscal 2020.
"It's an unsurprising aspect of the deal," said Rep. David Price, D-N.C., the chairman of the House Transportation spending committee.
"Everybody has their policy provisions that they value" and use spending bills to promote. "It’s a trade off," the congressman said, adding that Republicans "have made much heavier use of riders" than his party has in the last few years.
"Preventing these poison pills are key to the deal because that provision will allow President Trump to continue putting in place conservative policies through executive orders and regulations, and that fact has been a big selling point as our members decide whether to support it or not," an unnamed senior House GOP aide told Politico on background.
"Just as we do every other year, we will need bipartisan support to enact any changes in FY 2020 and FY 2021," wrote Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., in a letter to her colleagues on House spending panels, in which she insisted that legislators can still "negotiate riders … during committee consideration, floor debate, and conference."
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