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How Trump plans to seize the power of the purse from Congress
NO. 200
VOL. 8,
Over 100 youth, 70 families celebrate adoptions in San Bernardino County
By Molly Redden, ProPublica
By Staff
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
A family celebrates their adoption finalization Nov. 13 at the Ontario Convention Center. | Photo courtesy of San Bernardino County
President-elect Donald Trump speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. | Photo by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0
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onald Trump is entering his second term with vows to cut a vast array of government services and a radical plan to do so. Rather than relying on his party’s control of Congress to trim the budget, Trump and his advisers intend to test an obscure legal theory holding that presidents have sweeping power to withhold funding from programs they dislike. “We can simply choke off the money,” Trump said in a 2023 campaign video. “For 200 years under our system of government, it was undisputed that the president had the constitutional power to stop unnecessary spending.” His plan, known as “impoundment,” threatens to provoke a major clash over the limits of the president’s control over the budget. The Constitution gives Congress the sole authority to appropriate the federal budget, while the role of the execu-
tive branch is to dole out the money effectively. But Trump and his advisers are asserting that a president can unilaterally ignore Congress’ spending decisions and “impound” funds if he opposes them or deems them wasteful. Trump’s designs on the budget are part of his administration’s larger plan to consolidate as much power in the executive branch as possible. Last month, he pressured the Senate to go into recess so he could appoint his cabinet without any oversight. (So far, Republicans who control the chamber have not agreed to do so.) His key advisers have spelled out plans to bring independent agencies, such as the Department of Justice, under political control. If Trump were to assert a power to kill congressionally approved programs, it would almost certainly tee up a fight in the federal courts
and Congress and, experts say, could fundamentally alter Congress’ bedrock power. “It’s an effort to wrest the entire power of the purse away from Congress, and that is just not the constitutional design,” said Eloise Pasachoff, a Georgetown Law professor who has written about the federal budget and appropriations process. “The president doesn’t have the authority to go into the budget bit by bit and pull out the stuff he doesn’t like.” Trump’s claim to have impoundment power contravenes a Nixon-era law that forbids presidents from blocking spending over policy disagreements as well as a string of federal court rulings that prevent presidents from refusing to spend money unless Congress grants them the flexibility. In an op-ed published Nov. 20, tech billionaire Elon Musk and former Republi-
can presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who are overseeing the newly created, nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, wrote that they planned to slash federal spending and fire civil servants. Some of their efforts could offer Trump his first Supreme Court test of the post-Watergate Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which requires the president to spend the money Congress approves. The law allows exceptions, such as when the executive branch can achieve Congress’ goals by spending less, but not as a means for the president to kill programs he opposes. Trump and his aides have been telegraphing his plans for a hostile takeover of the budgeting process for months. Trump has decried See Trump Page 24
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ore than 100 children form 10 1/2 months to 14 years old were adopted into forever homes on earlier this month during the San Bernardino County Children and Family Services’ 24th Annual Adoption Finalization Event. The event was presented in partnership with the California Superior Court and the San Bernardino County Juvenile Court and featured 70 families who celebrated the finalization of the adoption process Nov. 13 at the Ontario Convention Center. This year’s theme was “Making Campfire Memories with Forever Families” and aimed to capture “the warmth and lasting bonds formed on this special day,” according to a county statement. The event featured activities for the families that included face painting, balloon animals, treasure hunts and a resource fair as they waited for their turn in the courtroom to finalize the adoptions. Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, Judge Rodney Cortez, Judge Lynn M. Poncin, San Bernardino County Supervisors Curt Hagman and Joe Baca Jr., county CEO Luther
Snoke, Assistant Executive Officer Diane Rundles and CFS Director Jeany Zepeda spoke at the event. “Each congratulated the families on this joyful day and emphasized the significance of creating stable, loving homes for youth,” according to the county statement. “Today, we celebrate children finding permanency and leaving foster care to join their forever families. This event also honors the village that made this possible, reminding us that no family is alone on this journey. Behind every child and family is a community of dedicated individuals who have played a vital role in supporting them,” Zepeda said in a statement. Officials said the purpose of the Annual Adoption Finalization Event is to reflect CFS and the county’s efforts to connect children with permanent homes “when reunification with their biological families is no longer possible.” More information about adoption is online at cfs. sbcounty.gov/adoptions-2 or available by calling county Adoption Services at 800-7224477.