FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednday, February 5, 2025
PRESS CONTACT:
nicole@focalpointstrategygroup.com
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Wednesday February 5th, the Senate voted on a Motion to Invoke Cloture on Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director nominee Russell Vought. A final confirmation vote could be as soon as tomorrow.
Vought falsely contends that the Trump administration can unilaterally cancel spending appropriated by Congress, through a process known as impoundment. Impoundment is illegal and unconstitutional; Congress created a process for the executive branch to withhold or rescind funding with Congressional approval in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Vought has built an agenda for using impoundment and challenging the Constitution, allowing Trump to ignore the will of Congress and amass unprecedented power. Vought and his Center for Renewing America and Project 2025 created the roadmap for the President to deploy impoundments and ignore laws passed by Congress without a vote.
Within moments of taking the Oath of Office, President Trump unleashed Vought’s unconstitutional and unprecedented plan to illegally impound funds already obligated by the federal government. In other words, the federal government has promised funding to specific grantees and, now, the Trump Administration is cancelling the check.
Appropriations reflect the priorities of the American people as expressed through their elected representatives in Congress. Presidential impoundment undermines our system of checks and balances. Presidents have many powers, but they do not have the power of the purse – that is Congress’s authority.
Congressional Integrity Project Senior Advisor Kyle Herrig issued the following statement on behalf of the Checks and Balances War Room:
“We’ve already gotten a taste of the chaos that will ensue if Russ Vought is confirmed as OMB Director, and he’s able to fulfil his mission to eliminate Congress’s power of the purse. This is an egregious executive branch power grab, and the Senate must stop Vought’s unconstitutional plan to cancel spending already authorized by Congress. There isn’t much time left. We urge Senators to take a stand, do their jobs, and protect Congress’s spending power and our system of checks of balances.”
Impoundment occurs when the president declines to spend money Congress has appropriated and enacted into law. This practice has always been unconstitutional, supported by the 1974 Impoundment Control Act. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made the power of impoundment a priority in his agenda. New polling from the Wall Street Journal shared that an overwhelming majority of voters are opposed to impoundments.