Trump Administration’s Disregard of Appropriations Legislation Jeopardizes Action on 2025 Funding

The Trump Administration’s series of unilateral actions undermining Congress’s constitutional authority over federal budget matters has made negotiations over appropriations exponentially more difficult as the March 14 expiration of the temporary appropriations bill approaches.

While ignoring enacted appropriations law runs counter to court rulings during the Nixon Administration, including by the Supreme Court, it also breaks the trust needed to reach agreement on appropriations. After all, why would Congress make a deal with an Administration that does not feel bound to adhere to that agreement? And, because appropriations bills require 60 votes to pass in the Senate and generally need bipartisan support to pass in the House, both Democrats and Republicans have to believe that the Administration will carry out the law, including funding that is included over objections by the President. As a result, the Administration’s actions diminish the chances of reaching agreement on adequate appropriations for 2025 to ensure that people across the country receive the services they need.

The Administration is withholding funding appropriated by Congress and relied on by individuals and families, cities and states, schools, and many others. These actions fundamentally challenge the appropriations process.

Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution assigns Congress the power to determine federal spending through appropriations legislation. One aspect of that congressional authority is a long-standing principle that agencies are supposed to make full use of the appropriations they receive. If the President decides that certain appropriations should not be used, the proper response is to request that Congress rescind the excess. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 affirmed these principles.

But the Trump Administration is disregarding these long-standing principles by refusing to use funds to meet the purposes for which they were appropriated. By executive order, President Trump unilaterally stopped making payments under a wide range of federal grants, loans, and other assistance, creating confusion and shortfalls for states, cities, nonprofit institutions, and others who rely on this funding for their operations and the public services they provide. A court ordered an end to this freeze, but a variety of appropriated funds remain blocked, causing concern among members of Congress of both parties.

Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, estimated that as of February 15 at least $396 billion of appropriated funding was being withheld. That funding covered clean water infrastructure; roads, bridges, and transit; medical research; high-speed broadband; and National Park staffing and maintenance, to give just some examples. In addition, the Administration has been summarily firing large numbers of federal employees paid with appropriated funds, which is likely to lead to reduced services to the public.

The Washington Post recently noted that Republican senators have been asking Administration officials “to release funds they themselves appropriated” and to reverse cuts to programs benefitting their states. By effectively taking away the “power of the purse” from Congress, the President has stripped members of their key constitutional authority, severely weakening their position in any negotiation with the White House.

The appropriations process is already difficult, with narrow margins in both the House and Senate, constrained funds, and considerable needs. No regular appropriations bills have yet been enacted for fiscal year 2025 and the partisan House bills and bipartisan Senate bills have serious differences. Federal agencies are operating under short-term continuing resolutions, which basically let operations continue at the prior year’s spending rate. Agencies are now in the fifth month of the fiscal year without knowing what their funding will be for the fiscal year as a whole — which creates difficulties in planning for efficient use of resources.

Negotiations between the House and Senate appropriators appear to be making progress on topline funding levels. But any final deal will need the Administration’s agreement. And while Democratic appropriators are seeking assurances that the Administration will follow the law to prevent the chaos that states, service providers, the public, and more have experienced, as Sen. Murray stated, “[I]t is extremely difficult to land an agreement on toplines — much less our annual bills — when you have a President and an unelected billionaire ignoring the very agreements we pass each year in our spending bills.”

Congress needs to finish work on 2025 appropriations soon. But doing so will be harder if the Administration continues to assert that it is allowed to disregard congressional action and withhold use of appropriated funds.