#VoteBlue
Judd Legum thread.
1. Trump says that if he returns to the White House, he will have the power to cancel any federal program — or an entire agency — by refusing to spend $ appropriated by Congress
A federal law prohibits this
But Trump says he will do it anyway
Here is how the scheme works:
https://x.com/JuddLegum/status/1810653326242877693
Judd Legum:
2. In a video, Trump says that the president has "the Constitutional power to stop unnecessary spending through what is known as Impoundment." According to Trump, if Congress appropriates money that he decides is unnecessary, he has the authority to "refuse to waste the extra funds."
Judd Legum:
3. The last president to claim the authority to impound Congressionally-appropriated funds was Nixon. In the 1970s, Nixon unilaterally canceled billions in spending "for highways, water pollution, environmental assistance, drug rehabilitation, public housing, and disaster relief."
