Congress Must Defund an Authoritarian Presidency

Since the first day of his second term, President Trump has shown open contempt for the Constitution. He now asks Congress to ratify that lawlessness by passing a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government at current levels—including funding for unconstitutional conduct, state-sanctioned violence, and dangerous abuses of military power. Congress must refuse. Instead, Congress must use its Article I authority to defund an authoritarian agenda that is already harming Americans and destabilizing the world. This month, the president proposed increasing the Department of Defense budget by roughly 50 percent—an increase of hundreds of billions of dollars on top of an already staggering defense budget that already exceeds one trillion dollars annually. This proposal comes as the executive branch demonstrates open disregard for international law and civilian protection. Recent reporting shows U.S. military operations involving aircraft disguised as civilian planes—conduct prohibited under the law of war. At the same time, the administration has retaliated against members of Congress for warning service members that they must refuse illegal orders, signaling a dangerous effort to politicize the military and punish constitutional oversight. At home, the administration has unleashed a heavily armed federal force against American communities. Under the banner of immigration enforcement, masked agents have conducted warrantless raids, used chemical agents on civilians, detained U.S. citizens without charge, and killed an innocent American woman, Renee Nicole Good, on a public street. In the aftermath of her killing, the administration smeared the victim, interfered with local investigations, and pushed to investigate her surviving spouse. Multiple career federal prosecutors have resigned in protest over the Department of Justice’s efforts to cut state authorities out of the case—clear evidence that DOJ is being used not to enforce the law, but to protect federal violence and punish political opponents. The administration has also attempted to freeze $10 billion in congressionally approved federal funding for child welfare and related programs in Minnesota and other blue states, openly using federal funds as a weapon of political retaliation. A federal judge promptly blocked that directive, confirming yet again that the president is acting without lawful authority. The president himself has now embraced the word “retribution” to describe these actions. Congress cannot continue funding agencies that operate outside the Constitution while claiming to defend democracy and public safety. If the president openly threatens to defund states, ignores appropriations law, retaliates against protected speech, and deploys federal force against civilians, then Congress must respond in the only way the Constitution permits—by withholding funds. We urge Congress to: • Refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution • Reject any increase to the Department of Defense budget, including the proposed 50% expansion • Defund and dismantle abusive immigration enforcement operations • Block funding for unauthorized or unlawful military actions • Condition appropriations and confirmations on full constitutional compliance • Reassert Congress’s exclusive authority over spending and war powers The courts move slowly. Federal agencies have been politicized. The power of the purse remains Congress’s most immediate and effective check. Funding this administration without conditions is not compromise—it is complicity. Congress must act now to defend the Constitution, protect civilian life, and stop the consolidation of unchecked executive power.