Purse Strings Attached

Congress has power of the purse. But the current administration (and it’s Muskian IT team) is testing that reality by deciding which programs to cut and which bills to pay. One would imagine that, regardless of political party, members of Congress would want to maintain what one could argue is its core power. But then again, maybe not. “The question of who has the final word is emerging as a central point of contention between members of Congress and the White House, a clash that is likely to escalate after the confirmation on Thursday of Russell T. Vought as the director of President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Vought has flatly declared that he and Mr. Trump consider the budget act to be unconstitutional. They contend that the White House can choose what gets money and what doesn’t even if it conflicts with specific directions from Congress through appropriations measures signed into law. Others on Capitol Hill, including some Republicans, vehemently dispute that idea.” Just not vehemently enough to keep Vought, the architect of Project 2025, from just being confirmed. NYT (Gift Article): White House Forces Showdown Over Congress’s Power of the Purse.

+ “Russell Vought, a leading figure behind Project 2025 and now Mr. Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget for the second time, promised to put government employees “in trauma.” The new-right intellectuals behind the anti-democratic movement draw heavily on crackpot writers like Curtis Yarvin, who condemns “the cathedral” — his term for the people and institutions that sustain a functioning modern state — and openly champions monarchical rule. In its first weeks, the Trump administration has delivered on that promise.” Katherine Stewart in the NYT (Gift Article): Now Will We Believe What Is Happening Right in Front of Us?