1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing once again because Russell Vought and this administration continue to demonstrate an alarming determination to dismantle the institutions of our government and concentrate unprecedented power in the hands of political appointees. The latest proposed changes to the rules governing federal grants should concern every American, regardless of political affiliation. Federal funding decisions affecting healthcare, transportation, education, food assistance, scientific research, and countless other essential programs should be based on law, established criteria, and the expertise of qualified professionals. They should not be subject to political loyalty tests or the personal ideological agenda of whoever happens to control the White House. Yet once again, we are watching Russell Vought attempt to fundamentally reshape the federal government by taking authority away from career experts and consolidating it under greater political control. This is not an isolated action. It is part of a disturbing and unmistakable pattern. This administration has attacked federal employees, weakened unions, stripped career civil servants of longstanding protections, attempted to make it easier to fire government workers, and sought greater political control over institutions that were deliberately designed to operate independently of partisan interference. Now we are seeing an effort that could potentially give political officials greater influence over how enormous amounts of taxpayer money are distributed throughout this country. Congress controls the power of the purse. The American people elect members of Congress to decide how taxpayer dollars should be spent. An administration should not be permitted to manipulate or undermine congressional funding decisions simply because it disagrees with the programs, organizations, communities, universities, researchers, or states receiving that funding. The potential for abuse should be obvious. What happens when funding decisions are based not on merit or public need, but on whether a recipient is politically favored by the administration? What happens when communities, researchers, universities, hospitals, or organizations must fear losing federal funding because they criticize the president or refuse to comply with an administration’s political agenda? That is not how a healthy democracy operates. Russell Vought has been remarkably clear about his desire to dismantle large portions of the federal government and exert greater control over the people who work within it. Congress should take him at his word and recognize the cumulative danger of these actions before even more institutional safeguards are destroyed. I am asking you to publicly condemn these efforts and aggressively defend Congress’s constitutional authority. I am asking you to oppose any attempt to politicize federal grantmaking, undermine congressional appropriations, or transform taxpayer funding into a weapon that can be used to reward political allies and punish perceived enemies. At what point will members of Congress decide that enough is enough? Every new expansion of executive power makes the next one easier. Every safeguard that is dismantled becomes more difficult to restore. Every member of Congress who remains silent while their own constitutional authority is weakened is helping establish a precedent that future presidents of either party will be able to exploit. Russell Vought was not elected by the American people to remake the federal government according to his personal ideology. Congress was elected, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to serve as a check on executive power. Please start acting like one. Your constituents are watching who stands up for democratic institutions and who remains silent while this administration systematically tears them apart.