White House budget director: Obama won't lock in spending cuts

US President Barack Obama will not accept action by Congress that "locks in" sequestration spending constraints, White House budget director Shaun Donovan said on Thursday as Republicans prepare to release their budget plans.

"The president has been very clear. He will not accept a budget that locks in the sequester going forward and he will not accept a budget that severs the vital link between defence and non-defence," Donovan told a news conference at the Capitol.

Although the president doesn't sign the non-binding budget resolution from Congress, he does have the ability to veto spending legislation. Asked if Obama would veto spending bills that conform to the $1.1 trillion across-the-board spending caps for this year, Donovan said those would be reviewed as they are written later this year.