Republican senators asked Tuesday for President Trump to promise to veto any bills Congress sends over that contain earmark spending, hoping to erect a backstop as other lawmakers on Capitol Hill eye a return to the days of pork-barrel spending.
“We respectfully urge you to make it clear that you will veto any bill Congress sends to you containing earmarks within the legislative text or the accompanying report,” the six Republicans, led by Sen. Jeff Flake, said in their letter.
Republicans in both the House and Senate have current bans on earmarks, but Speaker Paul D. Ryan promised his colleagues last year that he would convene a task force to revisit the issue and decide whether the time was ripe to restore earmarking.
“It is unfathomable to those of us who fought to end earmarks and witnessed out colleagues go to jail for corruption that pork barrel politics would return, especially at this time when Americans are clearly fed up with business-as-usual,” the senators said.
Earmarks are the special-interest projects lawmakers used to tuck into bills, siphoning taxpayers’ money back home to their states and districts.
Despite the bans on earmarks, some taxpayer groups say they still exist, and eat up billions of dollars in spending each year.
Mr. Trump has vowed to scour the budget looking for waste, but has also praised pork-barrel spending in the past, including at one point urging Kentucky voters to re-elect Sen. Mitch McConnell because of the money he brought back.
“It would be very, very foolish to give that up,” Mr. Trump said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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