A group of lawmakers is urging the Government Accountability Office to take the Trump administration to court over billions of dollars in funding the watchdog says was withheld unlawfully.
At issue is a so-called pocket rescission in which the administration sought to cancel about 810 million dollars in approved funding late in the fiscal year. The GAO, Congress’s nonpartisan audit arm, has ruled the move unlawful.
Lawmakers also point to a separate finding that the Department of Health and Human Services illegally withheld roughly 78 million dollars in grants for health-services research. Senator Patty Murray, a leading Democrat on appropriations, has accused the administration of starving agencies of money Congress provided.
Under federal law, the GAO can sue to force the release of impounded funds, a power it has used rarely. According to reports, the lawmakers argue that a lawsuit is now the only way to make the administration spend money the way Congress directed.
The dispute is the latest front in a long-running fight over the power of the purse, and it could set a precedent for how far future administrations can go in refusing to spend appropriated dollars.
The pocket rescission — an attempt to cancel funding so late in the fiscal year that Congress cannot respond — has been a particular flashpoint. The GAO ruled the maneuver unlawful, saying the administration cannot use timing tricks to defeat Congress’s spending decisions.
Whether the watchdog will actually file suit remains to be seen. The GAO has taken the government to court only a handful of times in its history, but lawmakers pushing the idea say the scale of the withheld money leaves little alternative.
The standoff is unfolding against a wider budget fight, with a December funding deadline approaching and both parties bracing for another round of brinkmanship. A court ruling on impoundment could echo well beyond the current dispute.
