Just curious. Can Trump decline to spend on a budget item?
After Nixon impounded funds, Congress passed the Impoundment Act. The President can request a rescission of funds. congress very rarely approves these. So the answer is no, the President must make the funds available for obligation.
I think so, but he can’t make a big deal out of it. Nixon did that with a “sequester” and either Congress or the courts forced rekease. But if Dept. Heads are just really, really slow to spend . . .
Q. Just curious. Can Trump decline to spend on a budget item?
A. - before 1974, Presidents often opted to not spend money that was budgeted by Congress. Many times, the President made the decision based on trying to hold the line on over spending, etc.
However - this upset Congress, because they felt that it took away THEIR power to give pork and lard to friends. Therefore - they passed the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. One aspect of that crappy bill was that the President could line out items he wanted to NOT spend money on....and if Congress voted in the affirmative to support those spending holds, within 30 days...then the spending holds would be permitted. If Congress did nothing....the spending holds were cancelled and the money HAD TO BE SPENT.
Of course - Congress would never affirm the spending holds - so after 1974 - Congress could pass big bloated budgets (say a Democrat Congress)...and a Republican President could not rein in spending through impoundments (which was routinely done prior to 1974.)
So - the short answer is - NO...Trump can’t decline to spend...thanks to a law passed in 1974 by Democrats. (A “Watergate-scandal” weakened Nixon signed the law less than 1 month before his resignation in Aug. 1974.)