Russell Vought and President Trump's plan to use "pocket rescissions" to unilaterally defund programs that Congress has already appropriated funding for is a dangerous violation of the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. The President does not have regal authority to ignore laws passed by Congress and withhold funds in direct contradiction of those laws. The Impoundment Control Act was passed specifically to prevent presidents from impounding funds after Congress has directed them to be spent. The Supreme Court previously ruled against President Nixon's attempt to impound funds appropriated by Congress for the Clean Water Act.
Allowing President Trump's "pocket rescissions" scheme would give him more power over federal spending than the British monarchs had before the American Revolution, eviscerating Congress's constitutionally-defined "power of the purse." The laws establishing programs like Head Start explicitly state that the appropriated funds must be spent as directed. Trying to use administrative tricks to impound this funding would clearly violate the letter of the law. Even the conservative Supreme Court's recent rulings against agency deference and in favor of the "major questions" doctrine cut against allowing the president to claim broad impoundment powers based on ambiguous statutory language.
I implore you to use all legislative means at your disposal, including the passage of new legislation if needed, to forcefully reassert Congress's power of the purse and stop the president's unconstitutional "pocket rescissions" gambit. Allowing this illegal power grab would not only undermine key federal programs, it would also deal a potentially fatal blow to the separations of powers at the heart of American democracy. Russ Vought's bluster cannot be allowed to become reality. Please act decisively to protect Congress's constitutional prerogatives.
First sent on August 9 by Coleman
