Federal Court Backs Up Merkley’s Call that Trump’s Pocket Rescission is Illegal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following a ruling from U.S. District Judge Amir Ali that reaffirms Congress’s power of the purse.
“A federal court slapped down Trump and Vought’s illegal attempt to use a ‘pocket rescission’ to claw back funding appropriated by Congress. This should not be a surprise to anyone; the Congress’s constitutional ‘power of the purse’ would have no meaning if the President were simply allowed to ignore spending laws passed by Congress. It is past time that Trump and Vought follow the law, release the bipartisan, appropriated funding, and realize that they cannot trample on Congress’s power of the purse.
“As we work to write annual appropriations bills, I will continue to push for my amendment that would prevent the Trump Administration from undermining another bipartisan agreement through the Impoundment Control Act. My Republican colleagues still have time to join me and reaffirm that Congress controls the federal budget, not Donald Trump and Russ Vought.”
The following excerpts are from Judge Ali’s ruling:
“To date, Congress has not responded to the President’s rescission proposal by rescinding the funds. And the ICA is explicit that it is congressional action—not the President’s transmission of a special message—that triggers rescission of the earlier appropriations.”
“Setting aside that Defendants’ position finds no support in the text of the ICA, it would prove far too much and, indeed, undermine the very purpose of the ICA by turning its protections against impounding funds into a mechanism for doing so.”
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