NoScopeNeko
Well-known member
White House Uses Shutdown as Cover for Unchecked Spending Power
The prolonged federal shutdown has turned into a perfect storm of executive overreach and legislative weakness. President Donald Trump and his budget chief Russell Vought are exploiting the shutdown to further consolidate control over federal spending, putting them at odds with Congress and likely violating the law in the process.
In most cases, Congress authorizes specific funding for government agencies, but there is no blanket permission for agencies to use funds from other accounts. According to Philip Joyce, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, "Congress can authorize transfers, but has to have permitted it in law. It's not a blanket permission that the agency has." This general prohibition against shifting funds between accounts is intended to prevent executive branch overreach.
Despite this prohibition, Vought's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been searching for creative ways to keep Trump's priorities funded during the shutdown. For example, the White House recently transferred revenue from Trump's escalating tariffs to fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a move that helped mitigate some of the public backlash against the administration's supposed indifference to vulnerable populations.
More concerning is Vought's recent statement, "Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait," which authorized the use of research and development funds to pay members of the military. This decision disregarded a key provision in Pentagon funding bills that allows for defense secretary transfers between military accounts but with specific guidelines.
Trump's order to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use available funds to pay and allowances for service members also raises questions about the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits drawing money from the Treasury without an appropriation. This law has been in place since 1870 and carries criminal penalties for violations.
While some experts argue that there may be loopholes or provisions that allow for creative spending, such as a 1935 law that allows the secretary of agriculture to use gross receipts from customs duties, parsing these nuances can be complex even for experts. The White House appears to be betting on avoiding lawsuits and court challenges, rather than defending its actions in Congress.
The Republican-led Congress has not been eager to protect its powers or challenge the executive branch's overreach. Speaker Mike Johnson stated that if Democrats want to go to court against the military pay scheme, they should bring it, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune lined up a vote on a standalone military pay bill more for political purposes than out of concern for fiscal discipline.
In conclusion, the White House's actions during the shutdown have raised significant concerns about executive overreach and the erosion of congressional authority. While some may see these moves as creative solutions to fund critical services, others view them as reckless disregard for the law and an attempt to consolidate power without accountability.
The prolonged federal shutdown has turned into a perfect storm of executive overreach and legislative weakness. President Donald Trump and his budget chief Russell Vought are exploiting the shutdown to further consolidate control over federal spending, putting them at odds with Congress and likely violating the law in the process.
In most cases, Congress authorizes specific funding for government agencies, but there is no blanket permission for agencies to use funds from other accounts. According to Philip Joyce, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, "Congress can authorize transfers, but has to have permitted it in law. It's not a blanket permission that the agency has." This general prohibition against shifting funds between accounts is intended to prevent executive branch overreach.
Despite this prohibition, Vought's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been searching for creative ways to keep Trump's priorities funded during the shutdown. For example, the White House recently transferred revenue from Trump's escalating tariffs to fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a move that helped mitigate some of the public backlash against the administration's supposed indifference to vulnerable populations.
More concerning is Vought's recent statement, "Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait," which authorized the use of research and development funds to pay members of the military. This decision disregarded a key provision in Pentagon funding bills that allows for defense secretary transfers between military accounts but with specific guidelines.
Trump's order to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use available funds to pay and allowances for service members also raises questions about the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits drawing money from the Treasury without an appropriation. This law has been in place since 1870 and carries criminal penalties for violations.
While some experts argue that there may be loopholes or provisions that allow for creative spending, such as a 1935 law that allows the secretary of agriculture to use gross receipts from customs duties, parsing these nuances can be complex even for experts. The White House appears to be betting on avoiding lawsuits and court challenges, rather than defending its actions in Congress.
The Republican-led Congress has not been eager to protect its powers or challenge the executive branch's overreach. Speaker Mike Johnson stated that if Democrats want to go to court against the military pay scheme, they should bring it, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune lined up a vote on a standalone military pay bill more for political purposes than out of concern for fiscal discipline.
In conclusion, the White House's actions during the shutdown have raised significant concerns about executive overreach and the erosion of congressional authority. While some may see these moves as creative solutions to fund critical services, others view them as reckless disregard for the law and an attempt to consolidate power without accountability.
so the White House is using a government shutdown as an excuse to just make up their own rules about how they spend taxpayer money... that's not exactly the kind of "fiscal responsibility" I was taught in school 
. It's like they're saying "oh, Congress didn't authorize this, but we'll just do it anyway because we're all grown-ups now"... newsflash: you're still a kid with a bad case of separation anxiety 
.
I'm literally just sitting here reading this article and my mind is blown 
The White House's actions during the shutdown are so shady. Like, what even is the point of a shutdown if they're just gonna keep finding ways to spend money without Congress' permission? It's like they think they can just make their own rules now? 
I'm not surprised that the GOP in Congress isn't doing much to stop them either, it feels like they're more worried about being seen as "tough on defense" than actually holding Trump accountable. 
This whole thing is just really concerning and I don't think we should be okay with this kind of executive overreach 
. The fact that Congress is just letting this slide and not doing anything about it is just depressing 
. And what really gets my goat is how the White House is trying to spin all this as some kind of "creative solution" when really it's just a bunch of executive overreach 
. The Antideficiency Act is clearly in place for a reason, and yet the White House is just ignoring it like it doesn't exist. I'm not buying all this talk about "loopholes" and "provisions" - at the end of the day, someone's gotta take responsibility for this kind of nonsense.
. This kind of executive overreach is exactly what gets us into trouble in the long run 
. Remember when Nixon had Watergate? This feels like some shady stuff going on over here. And what's with all these loopholes and exceptions? It's like they're just making it up as they go along 
.
. Newsflash: using defense secretary transfers without guidelines is a major red flag 
.
. It's all about consolidating power and avoiding accountability, folks 
. When will someone speak up for accountability? 
. I mean, come on, can't they just follow the law? It's not rocket science 
, allowing it to happen.
.
.
. I mean, think about it - the White House is basically using the shutdown as an excuse to do what they've been wanting to do anyway: consolidate power and control over federal spending 
. Plus, it's not like Congress is doing much better at holding Trump's feet to the fire 
. Maybe we can just focus on finding some silver linings here 
. After all, the Antideficiency Act has been around since 1870, that's some serious history and precedent there! 
. Using revenue from tariffs to fund a program for vulnerable populations is just a clever PR move 
. The real question is, what's next? Will they start using funds from NASA to pay for their own golf vacations 
?
. We need to hold our leaders accountable for their actions, not let them run amok with taxpayer money 
. I'm not sure how much more of this shutdown nonsense I can take...
, and yeah trump's priorities r important too. i'm not sayin congress is innocent or evrythin's fine, but let's not dismiss the WHs efforts without considerin other perspectives either 
