President Trump is disgusted by his signature on the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill he signed last month. He said so when he signed it. He noted, correctly, that the new law appropriates tens of billions of dollars of spending that the agencies don’t need and even in some cases, don’t want. (Who says bureaucrats can’t push themselves away from the trough?)

 

There’s a clear and present danger of voter backlash building against the congressional spending spree. Conservatives especially are angry about the Republicans’ all-you-can-eat buffet of debt and spending. A nation with a $20 trillion debt that is rising at a pace of nearly $1 trillion a year — much of it from China — can hardly afford to spend like Daddy Warbucks on a weekend spree in Las Vegas.

 

Ironically, Republicans thought that the old-fashioned, tried and true congressional custom of "bringing home the bacon" would continue to be popular with their constituents, just like always. But voters are more responsible than many of the men and women they send to Washington. Insensate spending has incited a revolt among grass-roots activists. They know who the guilty senators and representatives are, and they’re taking names. This spending spree could cost the Grand Old Party both House and Senate. What a pooped grand old party that would be.

 

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But there’s a fly in the ointment. Congress must uphold the rescission, and with the slender margins by which Republicans control Congress, there may not be enough votes to get that done. This Congress just can’t seem to get out of bed. However, there’s another way. Mr. Trump could announce to Congress that he won’t spend all the money, congressional appropriation or not. He could tell the people that as a CEO who has managed many successful businesses, he knows it’s absurd for the CEO of the government to be forced to throw money at waste. The website Openthebooks.com has chronicled tens of billions of dollars of waste. Americans concerned about the national debt — which is most of us — would applaud.