Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Spending Money Congress Approved — Week of Jul 21, 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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Last week, Congress passed and President Trump signed a bill canceling $9 billion in government spending that had already been approved by Congress — $8 billion in foreign aid and $1 billion for public broadcasting. This process, called a "rescission," was initiated by the executive branch, which asked Congress for permission to not spend money it had previously been directed to spend. Senator Durbin's floor speech described the vote as one of the most significant of his career, warning that cutting humanitarian aid would cost lives in the world's poorest communities.
This might matter because Congress's control over federal spending — known as "the power of the purse" — is one of the most important checks the legislature has on executive power. When a president can systematically request the cancellation of spending he disagrees with, it could shift the balance of who really decides how taxpayer money is used, even when Congress technically votes on the final decision.
There are important alternative explanations to consider. Most likely, this was simply the legal process working as intended: the president proposed the cuts, Congress debated them, and a majority voted yes. Two Republican senators even voted against it, showing real deliberation. Rescission bills are a normal part of budgeting, and presidents of both parties have used them. Additionally, reducing foreign aid and defunding public broadcasting are longstanding political priorities for many Republicans, making this more of a policy disagreement than an institutional crisis.
That said, concerns persist because this rescission occurs alongside reported broader patterns of executive spending freezes, and some administration officials have openly discussed reasserting presidential authority to withhold congressionally approved funds — a power Congress specifically limited after President Nixon's abuses in the 1970s.
Limitations: The primary evidence this week comes from a speech by an opposition senator, which naturally reflects a critical perspective. The rescission bill itself followed proper legal procedures. This is AI-generated analysis, not a finding of fact.