Trump Declares Signed Budgets Reversible by Personal Annoyance

The Government Accountability Office interrupted America’s transition to government by presidential mood Tuesday, ruling that President Donald Trump cannot cancel $810 million already approved by Congress merely because the money later began to irritate him. Trump submitted a “pocket rescission” request five days before the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, targeting health, education, housing counseling, minority business development and other programs known to recklessly provide the services Congress funded. The Impoundment Control Act gives lawmakers 45 days to consider such requests, preserving the antiquated ritual in which elected representatives read proposals, cast votes and behave as though Article I remains in effect.

Trump rejected that interpretation, explaining that his signature gives him permanent custody of every law rather than any obligation to follow it. “I signed the spending, which means it’s mine, and if it’s mine I can unsign it whenever I want, probably with a much better signature,” Trump said. “Congress can vote again if they’re unhappy, but they should remember that I have the pen and they have many committees.” The GAO maintained that withholding appropriated funds until they expire would unlawfully evade Congress’s power of the purse, embracing the radical doctrine that a statute continues to exist after the president loses interest in it.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins criticized the maneuver, deploying the grave concern traditionally reserved for executive overreach that Republicans hope to condemn without inconveniencing. White House budget director Russ Vought dismissed the GAO’s conclusion as partisan, noting that any referee who identifies a foul has plainly been recruited by the other team. Administration officials said the rescission targeted “harmful” spending, a category now covering any federal dollar that survives congressional debate, receives presidential approval and attempts the dangerous journey to its legally designated recipient. Constitutional scholars were advised that the power of the purse still belongs to Congress, except when the president reaches into it first and announces that he found the money annoying.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.