Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), told lawmakers this week that his agency is preparing to potentially take President Donald Trump to court over his efforts to freeze Federal funding for programs that Congress has already approved.
Last month, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) declared a freeze on most Federal grant and loan program payments with an aim to defund Federal programs that don’t align with the president’s agenda.
OMB quickly rescinded the memo in a series of legal maneuvers, and a Federal judge is still weighing the legality of the freeze.
Dodaro said GAO is also looking into the legality of pausing these payments, which he said may be a violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. That law restricts a president from cutting funding without the approval of Congress.
“We’ve already sent letters to the administration asking them to explain their legal position to us, and we will be making rulings as to whether or not these issues violated the Impoundment Control Act or not,” Dodaro said during a Feb. 25 hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., pointed out that Dodaro’s predecessor Elmer Staats, took President Gerald Ford to court “because Ford was not willing to comply with the Impoundment [Control] Act.”
The congressman warned that Dodaro must do the same if he believes President Trump is not following the law, adding, “With due respect, this is not a time for caution in speaking out.”
“We’re going to make these decisions as fast as possible,” Dodaro told Rep. Khanna. “I fully intend to carry out our responsibilities under the Impoundment Control Act expeditiously and thoroughly.”
“I’ll do it as quickly as I can, but we need to be careful and thorough because the next step for us is to go to court ourselves,” Dodaro added. “Under the Impoundment Control Act, if we say there’s an impoundment – the money’s not released within a certain period of time – we have to go to court.”
When asked by Rep. Khanna if he is prepared to do that, Dodaro said, “Yes, but I need to be prepared and be careful because when I go there, I want to win.”
Dodaro also noted that the current continuing resolution that is funding government operations complicates matters because there are not a lot of specifics for the current fiscal year. Instead, Congress is funding the government at fiscal year 2024 spending levels until March 14, 2025.
“There’s a lot of details and a lot of legal considerations to sort through but this is a high priority for us, and we’re going to execute our responsibilities,” Dodaro concluded.
