Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Spending Money Congress Approved — Week of Jun 2, 2025
Can the President refuse to spend money that Congress already approved? This is called "impoundment" and it's usually illegal.
AI content assessment elevated; government silence detected (source health indicator)
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Congress Pushes Back on Executive Spending Decisions
This week, two members of Congress publicly challenged the executive branch over control of federal spending. In the House, Rep. Dave Min of California delivered a detailed floor speech arguing that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) illegally withheld money Congress had directed to agencies including the Department of Education, USAID, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Min noted that although Musk has left government, roughly one hundred DOGE employees remain across federal agencies. In the Senate, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois criticized rescission proposals that President Trump submitted to Congress on June 3, which would cut funding for foreign assistance programs like PEPFAR and international broadcasting.
This might matter because Congress's control over federal spending—deciding what gets funded and at what levels—is one of the most important checks on presidential power. If the executive branch can withhold money Congress has already approved, or effectively cancel programs by proposing cuts and freezing funds before Congress votes, it could undermine the basic constitutional arrangement that gives the legislature the "power of the purse."
There are important alternative explanations to consider. The rescission proposals Durbin criticized are actually a legal process: presidents can ask Congress to cancel previously approved spending, and Congress can simply say no. This may be the system working as intended, with the disagreement being about policy priorities rather than constitutional violations. Additionally, the DOGE-related concerns raised by Min largely reference events from earlier this year, and federal courts have already blocked some of these actions, suggesting existing checks are functioning. Both speeches come from opposition lawmakers, whose role includes challenging the executive branch—vigorous criticism does not by itself prove that laws were broken.
Limitations: This analysis is based on congressional speeches from members of the minority party. It does not include executive branch responses or court rulings that may provide different context. The claims made in these speeches have not been independently verified through this review.