The admin still *could* disburse money for many stalled programs before the end of the fiscal year. Rachel Cauley, a spox for the #OMB, said in a stmnt that while they have not happened thus far, “impoundments remain an option at the president’s disposal.”
Though billionaire #ElonMusk’s #DOGE drew significant attention for its speedy cuts, #RussVought, #Trump’s budget director [& one of #Project2025’s architects], is expected to be key to the coming fight over spending.
#RussVought has spearheaded the admin’s campaign to assert sweeping #ExecutivePower over #spending, arguing that the Impoundment Control Act, the #law at issue now, is *unconstitutional*.
The #Trump admin has *justified* its cost-cutting measures by pointing out that the #US is $36 trillion in debt, although the type of #funding that ofcls have targeted represents a small fraction of the overall #budget.
[& Trump’s budget outline is projected to increase the debt by trillions more]
“We are seeing multiple major, major violations of the #budget #law,” said G. William Hoagland, who served as a #GOP aide to the #Senate Budget Cmte & is now at the Washington-based Bipartisan #Policy Center. “I think this is on its way to becoming a really big issue. This is going to blow up more than the administration can imagine.” The frozen spending is most visible in the #research community, where #science & #health funding has ground to a halt with little public explanation.