When a convicted felon controls the purse strings...
US government shutdown threatens the spending power of Congress
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - As Republican and Democratic lawmakers trade blame for the U.S. government shutdown, some have begun to worry that the impasse is ceding their authority over federal spending to an increasingly assertive President Donald Trump. The White House during the shutdown has frozen billions of dollars in funds meant for Democratic-led jurisdictions, sought to lay off thousands of federal workers and shifted money around to guarantee that military personnel and gun-carrying law enforcement officers will not see their pay disrupted.
Nonpartisan observers said that further marginalizes Congress at a time when Trump is already pushing the boundaries of presidential power in other areas, like military action and international trade. "That's like an existential threat for congressional power," said Molly Reynolds, a government expert at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank. "How do you negotiate a longer-term spending deal, something that goes more than just a couple of weeks, when you don't believe the executive branch is going to implement whatever choices it is that you put into that law?"
The U.S. Constitution assigns the power of the purse to Congress and not the president. Trump's fellow Republicans narrowly control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The shutdown began on October 1, the first day of the 2026 federal fiscal year, because congressional Republicans and Democrats had failed to agree on legislation to fund government services.
Democrats have said they will not vote to resume federal funding unless Congress also addresses subsidies for 24 million Americans due to expire at the end of the calendar year. Republicans have said Congress first must pass a temporary spending bill that would allow the government to reopen. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Americans blame Republicans, while 43% blame Democrats.
Read more: reuters.com
"That's like an existential threat for congressional power," said Molly Reynolds, a government expert at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank. "How do you negotiate a longer-term spending deal, something that goes more than just a couple of weeks, when you don't believe the executive branch is going to implement whatever choices it is that you put into that law?"
THAT is the crux of the problem. You "pass something" and he signs it into law (or something is already law) and then he changes his mind and does a TACO and ignores it and refuses to carry it out. And the effectively "dissolved"-by-the-majority-GOP Congress then sits there and shrugs and the majority Congressional GOP won't impeach and remove him nor will they even invoke the 25th Amendment to remove |
