From the adoption of the Constitution until 1974, Presidents were assumed to have the power—inherent in their office–to not spend money appropriated by Congress.[1]  In 1801, Thomas Jefferson chose to prioritize debt reduction over national defense.  He impounded $50,000 that had been appropriated for gunboats requested by the Navy.  Many of his successors impounded funds. 

By the early 1970s, members of Congress believed that President Richard Nixon was abusing his official powers in a variety of ways.  One example came in his impoundment of appropriated funds.  Nixon held up spending on “water pollution control, education and health programs and highway and housing construction.”[2]  The amount came to “$53.2‐billion during its first five years in office.”[3]  In the context of other struggles with President Nixon, House Speaker Carl Albert called it a struggle between Congress and “one-man rule.”  On a broadly bipartisan basis, Congress struck back.  The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 barred the President from impounding funds appropriated by Congress.[4]  It did permit a Presidential request for “rescission” if approved by Congress.[5]  Already mired in “Watergate,” Nixon signed the bill into law.  As a result of Nixon’s surrender, the law was never tested before the Supreme Court.  Do extreme cases make good law? 

That doesn’t mean that Presidents think that impoundment is a bad idea.  Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all supported the restoration of the authority stripped from the office because of that damn fool Nixon.  Other unsuccessful candidates for President—John McCain, Al Gore, and John Kerry—supported restoring the authority to impound.[6]   

Which brings us to President Trump.  During the campaign, he promised to “squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy for massive savings.”[7]  From the get-go he stopped appropriated spending on D.I.E. initiatives; payments to non-governmental organizations; foreign aid (for a 90 day review period); and all federal loans and grants (almost immediately rescinded).  Trump wants to bring the issue to the Supreme Court for the hearing it didn’t get in the 1970s. 

The key issue here is self-restraint.  The ballooning national debt, fueled by unbalanced annual budgets, threatens the financial stability of the government.  Nixon’s abuse of the powers of his office went well beyond what other presidents had done, alarming many people in both parties.  Trump seems determined to disrupt the established “way we do things around here” patterns that have taken the United States to the brink of multiple crises.  He, too, is alarming people in both parties.  He wouldn’t be on the verge of shifting the balance of power if all of us had shown more self-restraint.  Not meant as an exculpation of Trump.   

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[1] Impoundment of appropriated funds – Wikipedia 

[2] Richard D. Lyons, “Nixon’s Impounding of Billions in Federal Money Is Complicated Issue, Abounding in  Misconceptions,” NYT, 7 October 1973. 

[3] Compared to $39 billion impounded by Lyndon Johnson. 

[4] Passed by the House 385-23 (204 Democrats and 181 Republicans voting in favor); passed by the Senate 80-0 (50 Democrats and 29 Republicans). 

[5] Since then, Congress has rarely approved rescission requests, so Presidents rarely request them.     

[6] President Joe Biden did not.

[7] Charlie Savage, “Are Presidents Empowered to Block Spending Authorized by Congress?” NYT, 29 January 2025.