The White House rejects a watchdog finding that it's breaking the law over halted funds

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

Updated May 23, 2025 3:16 PM ET


The White House budget office on Friday rejected the conclusion of a nonpartisan congressional watchdog that said the Trump administration is breaking the law by not spending funds as directed by Congress.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on Thursday that said the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by blocking spending on electric vehicle charging stations.

The $5 billion in funding was from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Blocking the spending has put construction projects planned by states into limbo. The GAO said the Trump administration needed to go through a formal rescissions process — where Congress agrees to the cuts — in order to stop the spending, rather than unilaterally cutting it off.

Trump's budget director Russ Vought on social media dismissed the GAO report — and other similar GAO investigations — saying they were "non-events with no consequence. Rearview mirror stuff." "They are going to call everything an impoundment because they want to grind our work to manage taxpayer dollars effectively to a halt," Vought said.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/23/nx-s1-5409080/trump-white-house-impoundment-gao

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From the excerpt -

"They are going to call everything an impoundment

That's because it is.

Article I

(snip)

Section 9.

No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

(snip)

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

(snip)

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei

(and I'm also highlighting the "ex post facto" because that is what they seem to want to do here to organizations with respect to "DEI" and punishing them by slashing funds for nonsense, and eventually have Congress authorize that).

[fujiyamasan]

1. I'm surprised the republicans haven't tried to strip the GAO of funding

Because Trump will certainly demand it.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. The GAO is a *CONGRESSIONAL* (Legislative Branch) office, NOT an Executive Branch one

https://www.gao.gov/about/what-gao-does/history

Created by - Budget and Accounting Act of 1921

Originally named the "Government Accounting Office" and later renamed to the "Government Accountability Office".

In this case, like the Library of Congress, the President appoints the head (the Comptroller General for the GAO), but it is managed by Congress (including any other positions).

The GOP uses it quite a bit when a Democratic President is in charge.

[mdbl]

2. It's obvious the Dump adminstration doesn't care about laws

Thanks to the SCROTUS.