The Trump administration is diverting aid meant for Europe and the Middle East to governments in Latin America despite opposition of members of Congress.
The Washington Post reported that Democrats on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees are rejecting the move.
The State Department notified Congress of the planned change in September, leading in a hold being placed on the funding by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-New York). This week, the administration told lawmakers it would defy the hold and divert the money anyway.
The administration is sending $52 million pledged to Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq and is diverting it to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
"We will consider a breach of this hold and the transfer of funds to violate statutory requirements and to have consequences for the Department's relationship with our committees," Shaheen and Meeks wrote in a letter to the State Department.
The letter stated that the purpose for the funds was clear and that the Trump administration was disregarding Congress.
"To date, the Department has failed to justify its proposal to reprogram funds that were specifically appropriated by Congress for a particular national security objective: aiding Ukraine and countries impacted by the war in Ukraine. The proposed reprogramming of these funds violates statutory requirements and therefore the hold on any reprogramming of these funds remains in place," the letter states.
The State Department told The Washington Post that the diversion of funds aligned with the president's foreign policy of prioritizing the Western Hemisphere.
"Reprogramming money away from Middle East and Europe to the Western Hemisphere is consistent with the National Security Strategy," the department said in a statement to the newspaper. "The funds used in our region will combat narco-terrorism in our hemisphere and help continue to secure the Panama Canal."
