1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

Trump is violating the Constitution on a daily basis by illegally withholding (impounding) funds appropriated by Congress. Several federal judges have so held. Now, for the third time, the Government Accounting Office has ruled that Trump is illegally impounding funds appropriated by Congress. Impounding funds flouts Congress’s (read: your) authority under the Constitution to appropriate funds and violates a post-Watergate reform law, the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, specifically designed to prohibit impoundment. Illegally impounding funds is an impeachable act and was part of the underlying conduct that led to Trump’s first impeachment. Per the Articles of Impeachment in 2019, Trump committed an impeachable offense, in part, by suspending “the release of $391 million of United States taxpayer funds that Congress had appropriated on a bipartisan basis for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression . . . .” See Articles of Impeachment 2019 at Art I, para. 2 (A). Sadly, Trump’s current impoundment of funds is not limited to Head Start but is a government-wide phenomenon. The DOGE website brags that it “cut” $190 billion in funds previously appropriated by Congress and disbursed by the executive branch. The failure of Congress to object to Trump’s repeated violation of the Constitution has resulted in a situation where Trump has unilaterally rewritten its provisions. Previously, the Constitution provided that Congress appropriates funds via legislation and the president “faithfully executes” the legislation by disbursing the funds as directed. Now Congress appropriates funds, and Trump does whatever the hell he wants with the money, and no one cares. Please stand up to preserve the separation of powers.