Trump has a 'real problem' as Republicans warn against 'illegal' funding scheme

In U.S. politics, the word "impoundment" is used to describe a president's administration freezing funds that has already been approved by Congress and signed into law. President Donald Trump is a supporter of impoundment, but other Republicans believe that impoundment is a violation of federal rules — as Congress has "the power of the purse."

Moreover, some critics of impoundment argue that it violates separation of powers. If funding was passed by Congress and signed into by a previous president, the current president has no business "impounding" anything — and is intruding on the federal government's legislative branch.

In an article published by Politico on May 8, reporters Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus describe an "impoundment" battle taking place three and one-half months into Trump's second presidency.

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"Republican appropriators are alarmed that the White House is open to unilaterally freezing cash Congress could approve in September, if lawmakers overshoot President Donald Trump’s latest budget request," Scholtes and Tully-McManus explain. "It marks a shift for top Republicans in charge of writing government funding bills, who have largely hesitated to speak too harshly against the president's funding freezes this year. As defense hawks on Capitol Hill demand far more funding than Trump is seeking for the military, the president's willingness to withhold congressionally approved cash — known as 'impoundment' — is widening the rift between the White House and GOP lawmakers ahead of the fall fiscal cliff and increasing worries of a government shutdown."

One GOP lawmaker who isn't shy about attacking impoundment is Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho).

Simpson recently told reporters, "I’ve got a real problem with impoundment. That's like a line-item veto, and I think it’s illegal. That will be a challenge, for sure."

In 2025, Scholtes and Tully-McManus, Republican Trump is conflicting members of his own party over impoundment.

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"Withholding federal money is nothing new for Trump, who has spent months freezing billions of dollars signed into law on former President Joe Biden's watch despite lawsuits challenging the tactic," the Politico reporters note. "It goes back even further, with Trump's impeachment in 2018 tied in large part to his decision to hold back military aid to Ukraine. But it would be considered far more radical for the president to defy congressional leaders from his own party by locking up congressionally approved funding after nine months of total GOP control in Washington."

Scholtes and Tully-McManus add, "Several senior Republicans decried Trump's budget proposal last week to keep the military's funding flat in the upcoming fiscal year while piling on $150 billion more through the party-line package Republican leaders are endeavoring to pass this summer, which is far from guaranteed."

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Read the full Politico article at this link.