(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Trump's Latest Power Play Could Be Devastating [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-29
It’s called impoundment.
I don’t know if it’s the ultimate power grab, but it’s right up there, and four-time indicted, twice impeached, sexual assaulter, tax fraudster, insurrectionist inspirer, wannabe fascist dictator, convicted felon, President Donald Trump is making a run at it.
And we better know what could be coming.
Among Trump’s most outlandish executive orders signed since he took office on Jan. 20 (You mean it hasn’t even been two weeks yet?) was one this week when, as the New York Times reported, he “froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans until they could be vetted to ensure they aligned with his plan to purge the government of what he calls a ‘woke’ ideology.”
Not surprisingly, the president’s order was vague. It soon disrupted Medicaid and a variety of programs, “leaving millions unsure if they would lose access to jobs, services, and health care,” the Times said.
A federal judge quickly blocked the action yesterday afternoon, so now we’ll see what happens in the courts. At first blush you’d think Trump wouldn’t be able to do this because it’s Congress that controls the purse strings in this country, something that would end if a president could just cut or cancel any spending appropriated by that body that he didn’t like.
That’s where impoundment comes in, and it could be devastating. Let’s take a look.
Back in July, the American Prospect website carried a story about Trump’s plan to seize control of our country’s spending if he returned to power.
That’s what he did in his first go-round when he attempted to withhold funds from Ukraine in return for an investigation of Joe Biden. That ploy ultimately failed and was the basis for Trump’s first impeachment.
The law is clear on this issue, the story said. After the Nixon administration tried to withhold funds appropriated in legislation Congress enacted the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 that removed any existing presidential impoundment power and required congressional approval to rescind specific government spending.
Under the Impoundment Control Act, the White House can withhold funds for 45 legislative session days, at which point Congress must either pass legislation to rescind the funds or the money must be released. A 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision – Train v. New York – upheld the law.
You may be thinking what about a line-item veto. That idea’s been kicked around before. Well, the Supreme Court held in Clinton v. City of New York that a law delegating that authority is unconstitutional.
A president can, of course, veto a bill with spending in it, but once he signs proposed legislation into law or Congress overrides his veto then he can’t refuse to spend the money.
When Trump withheld the Ukraine funding for 55 days, the Government Accountability Office issued a legal opinion that the administration had violated the law, the story said. Now he’s trying to do it again.
Are you surprised?
You can read the American Prospect Story here.
***
This looks to be one of the many legal battles Trump’s administration is going to be in over the next four years. Based on the American Prospect analysis you’d think this is one he’s going to lose. But will he?
We already know about our corrupt Supreme Court. How corrupt are they willing to be in this case? How much evidence do they want recorded in history that the conservative majority were nothing more than lapdogs for a corrupt president?
The America Prospect story makes a chilling point:
“The Roberts Court has shown it is willing to throw away long-standing precedent, from Roe (abortion) to Heller (guns) to Chevron (agency deference). It also has no problem unbalancing the separation of powers and articulating a very imperial view of the presidency, as we saw with the recent immunity decision.”
Picture what Trump or any president could do with this power. He could simply ignore the will of an elected Congress. The Constitution would be worthless. He could withhold funds to punish his opponents, advance his agenda, or use as leverage against his political opposition.
The number of innocent people who could be hurt in this sinister game is staggering.
Trump isn’t looking to govern. He’s not looking to find areas of compromise or pursue the greater good. He’s looking to dominate. To impose his will on all branches of government, our country, and the world.
If the Supreme Court gives him this power it will go down as co-conspirators in the end of our democracy. Are they okay with that? I think some will be. Hopefully there won’t be enough of them.
We’ll see.
***
Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Please share and subscribe for free via email on its home page.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/29/2299959/-Trump-s-Latest-Power-Play-Could-Be-Devastating?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
