GOP senator vows to 'fight like hell' over Trump's federal grant plan

WASHINGTON, DC: Republican senators are heading into a five-week recess with a split over President Donald Trump’s plan to put political appointees in charge of federal grant approvals.

Senator John Kennedy said that he is going to “fight like hell” in December to carry out the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of the federal grant process.

Susan Collins and John Kennedy split over grants

Raw Story reported on Saturday, August 8, that the clash emerged as the Senate passed a funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.

The measure also took aim at Trump's proposed changes to the federal grant process.

Sen Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the plan would politicize how grants are approved.

Asked why, Collins said, "Because I think they politicize the grants process, and I don't want that to occur."

Kennedy took the opposite position. He told reporters that he would "fight like hell" in December to carry through the Trump administration's plan to overhaul the federal grant process, according to the report. 

It further reported that lawmakers are already expecting a year-end "brawl" over the issue.

The House has not yet acted on its own funding bill, leaving an October 1 shutdown deadline looming.

Senate also leaves SAVE Act unfinished

The Senate adjourned without passing Trump's SAVE America Act, despite his repeated calls for lawmakers to get it done before the midterms.

The funding bill accepted language that blocks ICE and Border Patrol from receiving new funding under the bill, according to the outlet. 

House Republicans are expected to take a hard line against the provision, even though they approved $70 billion in funding for those agencies earlier this year, the outlet reported.

Rep John Rutherford, R-Fla, said the Senate language could become a major obstacle.

"Could be a dealbreaker," he said, adding that he is "not a fan" of what the Senate wrote.

House Republicans push back on funding bill

Rep Jeff Van Drew also rejected the Senate's approach.

"I do not like the Senate language," Van Drew said. "I would want to know what the president thinks."

The dispute over the grant process adds another point of tension between Republicans as lawmakers prepare to return from recess and face the next round of funding fights.

Collins has already made clear she plans to keep opposing Trump's grant proposal, while Kennedy says he intends to push it forward in December.

The House still has to act on its funding bill before the October 1 deadline, leaving the grant fight and the broader funding dispute unresolved.