#Trump budget director #RussVought has argued that Trump does not need #Congress' approval & can withhold funds for 45 days, which would run out the clock until the #funding expires at the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30. Project #Democracy, a nonpartisan advocacy group, says the tactic has not been used since 1983.
#Democrats say the admin had frozen more than $425 billion in funding, which some #Republicans say is #illegal.
…#States expected the #funding to be released on July 1, as normally happens. Instead, the *#Education* Dept notified states June 30 that the money was under review for compliance w/ #Trump’s *priorities*. The #OMB [#RussVought] said it was investigating whether any of the grant money had in the past been used for a “radical leftwing agenda.”
The admin ofcl said “guardrails” would be in place “to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of executive orders or admin policy.”
“They don’t want any #accountability,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro, the Connecticut Democrat who leads her party on the chamber’s Appropriations Committee. “They’re annoyed the #GAO found the White House is stealing funds from taxpayers. That is the only plausible explanation for this.”
#Trump #law #ExecutiveBranch #AbuseOfPower #Project2025 #RussVought
The #House bill would also block the #accountability office from suing the government to force the release of frozen funds, unless Dodaro & his successors obtain congressional support. That could make it harder for the office to conduct #oversight of #Trump, though #Senate #Republicans have not targeted the #GAO as part of their own appropriations bill for 2026. A spox for Valadao did not respond to a request for comment.
#law #ExecutiveBranch #AbuseOfPower #Project2025 #RussVought
The #House measure, if passed, could force the #accountability office to reduce its staff by at least 2,200 people, acc/to an estimate that the #GAO furnished to lawmakers in June. The office warned that the cut would leave it unable to do work sought by both parties to uncover federal waste.
“It would have, if that were to happen, grave & pervasive effects on our services to #Congress,” Dodaro said in an interview.
#Trump #law #ExecutiveBranch #AbuseOfPower #Project2025 #RussVought
In contrast, #House #Republicans in June proposed to strike nearly $400 million from the #GAO’s budget as part of a larger *spending* measure for next fiscal year. Its author, Rep David Valadao (R-CA), framed it in June as part of a broader crackdown on “unnecessary spending” in the legislative branch. But #RussVought appeared to offer another explanation on social media, writing: “Maybe GAO shouldn’t be partisan.”
#Trump #law #ExecutiveBranch #AbuseOfPower #Project2025 #RussVought
Michael Adzema
Nonilex
Ars Technica News