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Constitutional Law

Sep. 5, 2025

Why Congress must guard the power of the purse

President Trump's sweeping claim of unilateral impoundment authority--already tested in Congress, the courts, and recent emergency stays--sets up a constitutional showdown with the Supreme Court over whether the executive can override Congress's "power of the purse."

John H. Minan

Emeritus Professor of Law
University of San Diego School of Law

Professor Minan is a former attorney with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and the former chairman of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board.

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Why Congress must guard the power of the purse
Shutterstock

President Donald Trump has pledged to "restore executive branch impoundment authority to cut waste, stop inflation, and crush the Deep State." Trump has already withheld billions of dollars of appropriated funds he does not support or like. Unsurprisingly, he has also slashed spending on programs he said he would support.

The Supreme Court will have to decide Trump's impoundment authority in the next few weeks.

Trump contin...

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