Now, More Than Ever…We Are Screwed For The Next Four Years

 I’m a little curious about this:

President Trump’s immigration crackdown is burning through cash so quickly that the agency charged with arresting, detaining and removing unauthorized immigrants could run out of money next month.

Why it matters: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is already $1 billion over budget by one estimate, with more than three months left in the fiscal year. That’s alarmed lawmakers in both parties — and raised the possibility of Trump clawing funds from agencies to feed ICE.

Lawmakers say ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is at risk of violating U.S. law if it continues to spend at its current pace. That’s added urgency to calls for Congress to pass Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which could direct an extra $75 billion or so to ICE over the next five years.

The law being violated is the Anti-Deficiency Act. If you want the non-lawyer version, google those words and take Google AI at its word. The tl;dr is that the act restricts federal agencies from spending any money Congress hasn’t allocated, or overspending its budget.

The law requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to apportion (allocate) funds to different agencies and further requires agency heads to establish a system of administrative control to ensure spending stays within these limits.

That’s the first problem. The law assumes an OMB that follows the law.  Russell Vought is the current director of the OMB. 💀

Google AI tells me there are administrative penalties for violating the Act, including suspension and even removal from a position.

Don’t hold your breath.

There are also criminal penalties available for particularly egregious cases. And who would prosecute those? Oh yeah, the DOJ. And who’s in charge of the DOJ?

☠️

And no, Emptywheel is not a lawyer:

This creates the possibility for a slew of legal challenges to Stephen Miller’s dragnet, both from those targeted in it challenging the legality of spending money to target them in the first place, but also from opponents who can start suing Trump for breaking the law by spending money that was not appropriated.

No, it really doesn't.

The dragnet is at somewhat-imminent risk of becoming an illegal use of funds

The second paragraph is undoubtedly true; but that doesn’t give people in the first paragraph standing to sue, primarily because a suit seeks damages, and the act provides administrative remedies.

Oil and water. No, the legal analysis is not that simple, but there’s not a lot to say people targeted by ICE can challenge their detentions based on the Anti-Deficiency Act. Nothing in the Act undoes what government has done in violation of the Act (just like Trump’s favorite hobbyhorse, fraud, doesn’t always unravel the fruit of the fraud, as in elections), so I think the failure of standing there is already clear.) The use of funds is undoubtedly illegal. But that doesn’t make government actions illegal. And does anybody think Homan or Noem or Miller are at risk of losing their jobs? Or even that losing their jobs would free people from ICE detention?

Then I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Trust me. You look like a gullible…er, I mean, trusting person.

Now, this doesn’t mean Congress isn’t concerned. Thune wants to get this bill voted on by July 4 so Noem has the money to run ICE. (July 4 is the deadline insisted on by the White House). I don’t know how that deadline fits into the timing for the conference committee that has to reconcile these bills and present the result to both houses. The fiscal year ends 9/30, and frankly Congress hasn’t been all that concerned with Trump refusing to spend money and moving it around and shutting down departments (is DOE still working?). So, color me cynical.🤨 Still, Thune wants to meet that deadline and get that funding into law. If he’s worried about anything, it’s talking points; not administrative remedies the administration is not going to enforce. Or maybe he’s worried about Noem’s money burn rate.

It may not be just the burn rate of Noem’s spending spree.

That is, Noem is blowing through cash and the result of it is horrible images of American citizens being assaulted by masked goons. Noem is blowing through cash and businessmen in all sorts of industries are discovering that their businesses will suffer. Noem is blowing through cash and everyone is talking about how terrible the consequences of Miller’s demand for 3,000 bodies a day is.

Noem is blowing through cash and the issue of immigration is becoming a liability, not Trump’s biggest advantage.

And so Thune will attempt to do Susie Wiles’ bidding to get the dragnet funded before it’s too late.

Curious reasoning because, by that reasonable argument, it already is too late. Why Thune cares, still confuses me. After all:

It’s the thing they are historically best at.