To play this out, there will be literally dozens of lawsuits challenging what OMB is doing on the ground that it violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Trump’s DOJ will argue that the Act is unconstitutional. And this will quickly get to #SCOTUS, where it will be the biggest case of the term.We need to measure the rule of law.
And for as cynical as many have become about #SCOTUS, if *I* were trying to get the constitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act before this Supreme Court, the absolute *last* way I would do it is through an across-the-board, wholesale freeze accomplished via a thinly reasoned 2-page memorandum.Trump has frozen all government grants.
Congress approved these investments and they are not optional, they are the law. These grants help communities in red states and blue states and support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/27/white-house-pauses-federal-grants/I’m familiar with them from the education grants awarded to schools. This action is like shutting down the government.
Normally when you have a government shutdown it's because there's a funding lapse. Tonight we have a government shutting down lots of itself by fiat. This is something new.It's now like a full government shutdown because this will be felt immediately. Schools across the country are going to have to suspend programs, perhaps suspend teachers and personnel, even cancel classes.* This will have a major impact, probably more immediate than closing government offices or national parks. Because more people are affected by the local schools than probably any other branch of government, and in their daily lives.
Trump wanted attention. He may regret getting it.
*Texas state government has justified reducing spending for local schools on the grounds (among others) that federal funds will make up some of the shortfall. Not anymore.
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