Trump is already facing pushback from Congress on his budget proposal and now he’s planning to override them entirely.
His new budget would slash nearly every federal program by a total of $163 billion while leaving defense spending untouched. Even many Republicans are uneasy with the plan. But instead of negotiating, Trump’s team is stating they will simply ignore Congress and bring back impoundment, the practice of withholding funds that Congress has already approved. There’s just one problem: that’s unconstitutional.
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 makes it illegal for the president to unilaterally withhold or redirect funds that Congress has appropriated. This law was passed after Nixon tried similar abuses of power, and it was designed to protect the core constitutional principle that Congress controls the nation’s purse strings, not the president.
Trump and his allies, including OMB chief and Project 2025 architect Russell Vought, have called the Impoundment Act unconstitutional and want to revive presidential impoundment authority. But the reality is simple: the Constitution gives Congress, not the White House, authority over spending. Any move by Trump to seize or block funds would almost certainly trigger a constitutional crisis and end up at the Supreme Court.
This isn’t fiscal responsibility. This is an authoritarian power grab.
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