WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to redirect $2.5 billion in foreign aid to cover the costs of dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, while allowing another $725 million to lapse, two senior Senate Democrats warned Tuesday. The warning came from Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the leading Democrat on the panel that finances the State Department. They said the administration’s plans would affect money Congress specifically approved for international health, development, anti-trafficking and economic programs. The $2.5 billion earmarked for USAID “closeout costs” includes $1.3 billion for global health initiatives and $1.2 billion for development assistance, according to the senators. The Trump administration has worked throughout the president’s second term to dismantle the agency. Murray and Schatz said the administration also appears poised to let $725 million expire after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 rather than spend it as directed by Congress. That sum includes $115 million for combating international drug trafficking and human trafficking, $310 million for programs in Europe and Eurasia intended to counter Russia, and $300 million for economic growth, supply-chain security and U.S. competitiveness. “Congress did not hand Trump a checkbook to spend on whatever he pleases while blocking funding for everything else,” the senators said in a joint statement. They urged Republicans in Congress to press the administration to use the money for the purposes lawmakers approved. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The dispute is part of a broader fight over the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the executive branch. Congress controls federal spending through appropriations laws, while the administration has increasingly sought to reshape or withhold funds approved by lawmakers. Some Republicans have challenged those efforts, though GOP lawmakers had not publicly responded Tuesday to the reported plans involving USAID funding. The administration’s handling of other federal grants is also drawing bipartisan criticism. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, urged Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya to abandon a proposal that would give a new board a role in approving NIH grants, including a possible veto for Vought. Collins said such a move could politicize research decisions and undermine the NIH’s peer-review system, under which outside experts evaluate grant applications. She argued that any changes should be proposed through legislation rather than executive action. The potential loss of foreign-aid money comes as other federal funds face imminent deadlines. A federal judge has ordered administration officials to report next week on the status of hundreds of millions of dollars for Education Department programs in a lawsuit brought by organizations that receive federal grants. For communities and organizations that rely on international assistance, the consequences of redirecting or forfeiting the money could include delayed programs and disrupted partnerships. The immediate question is whether the administration will spend the funds before the end of the fiscal year — and whether lawmakers will be able to enforce the priorities they set in law.