Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Spending Money Congress Approved — Week of Mar 31, 2025
Can the President refuse to spend money that Congress already approved? This is called "impoundment" and it's usually illegal.
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This week, the President signed an executive order targeting a specific private law firm—WilmerHale—ordering federal agencies to suspend security clearances, cancel government contracts, and restrict hiring of the firm's employees. The stated reason was the firm's legal work opposing administration policies on immigration and elections, and its employment of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The order treats the firm's legal advocacy as a national security risk.
This might matter because Congress sets the rules for how the government spends money on contracts and hires employees—through laws designed to ensure fairness and competition rather than political loyalty. When the executive branch cancels contracts and bans hiring based on a firm's legal positions rather than job performance or legal violations, it could undermine the merit-based procurement system Congress created to protect taxpayers and ensure government gets the best services.
Separately, Senator Rand Paul, a Republican, gave a Senate speech arguing that the President's use of emergency powers to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods amounts to one person raising taxes—something the Constitution reserves for Congress. He introduced a resolution to terminate the emergency declaration, calling it a violation of the founding principle of "no taxation without representation."
There are alternative explanations to consider. The President has broad authority over security clearances, and government contracts often include provisions allowing termination at any time. The administration could argue it is managing national security risks, not punishing legal advocacy. On tariffs, Congress itself passed laws giving presidents emergency trade authority, and courts may find the President acted within those bounds. These are legitimate points, but the WilmerHale order's explicit focus on the firm's legal positions—rather than any individual security concern—makes the national-security framing less convincing.
Limitations: This analysis is AI-generated and based on a limited set of public documents. It does not account for legal challenges, agency implementation decisions, or other developments that may change the picture.