Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Trump-appointed oligarchs tasked with cutting federal expenditures, have a daunting task ahead of them. This so-called “DOGE” duo has vowed to slash about $2 trillion in governmental spending, even though there was only $1.7 trillion in “discretionary” spending in the FY 2023 budget. About half of discretionary spending is for national security. Interest on the debt and mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare, accounted for $3.8 trillion in last year’s budget. That means mandatory programs are now at risk with the $2 trillion target.
The budget review may be a worthy undertaking because there is undoubtedly substantial waste built into every US budget. Recommendations made by the two should be considered by Congress and the new Administration, but that’s where problems will likely arise. To get to the amount targeted, it is almost certain they will recommend cutting into safety net programs. Although the DOGE duo and Trump claim a President can unilaterally implement their recommended cuts, the US Constitution and the legacy of my former boss, Senator Len Jordan, won’t permit Trump to do it.
In 1972, during his last year in the Senate, Jordan was fed up with President Nixon’s impoundment of funds for water projects that Congress approved for Idaho and other states. That is, Congress would pass bills to authorize and fund the projects, but Nixon would refuse to make the expenditures. Jordan correctly pointed out that Congress holds the Nation’s purse strings under the US Constitution and when the law calls for specified expenditures the President cannot refuse to spend the money. The President must execute the laws, not defy them.
On October 13, 1972, Jordan gained passage of an amendment to a bill limiting the national debt to $250 billion (it’s now over $36 trillion). The amendment restricted Nixon’s ability to impound funds appropriated by Congress. I accompanied Jordan on the Senate floor to assist with the debate. He argued, “If ever the day comes when the Congress surrenders its control, or even part of its control over the purse strings of this Nation, on that day the Congress will have reduced itself, by self-immolation, to the ashes of sterility.” That made an impression on his Senate colleagues.
Nixon’s forces furiously opposed the amendment, but the Senate approved it and passed the bill. The House passed a watered-down version, which Nixon signed. The spark Jordan lit that day resulted in passage of more comprehensive legislation, the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, two years later. That Act prevents the President from withholding appropriated funds unless both houses of Congress consent. Trump and his DOGE duo have vowed to ignore the Act, but that may be easier said than done.
If the work of the DOGE duo is intended to limit deficit spending and the troubling increase in the national debt, Senator Jordan had advice that could help. He told me that the government must live within its means. There are two components–revenue and expenditures. If the expenditures deemed necessary exceed expected revenue, the government is obligated to raise taxes to prevent deficits. That was Republican orthodoxy back then. Republicans always decried deficit spending and the consequent increase in the national debt. They now heartily embrace both, refusing to tax the ultra-wealthy to pay for programs Congress approves. Oligarchs like the DOGE duo pay little or no federal tax. It is strange that the DOGE duo is not charged with identifying tax breaks that do not serve the national interest and which have impoverished the national treasury. Just look at the $7.8 trillion that Trump added to the national debt during his first term. Present-day Republican orthodoxy has abandoned fiscal sanity.
The long and short of it is that Jordan left a legacy that can frustrate a President’s design to unilaterally withhold funding that has been lawfully approved. Jordan had the courage to stand up to a President he believed was acting in violation of the law. If the DOGE duo recommends slashing vast amounts of spending, we may see a replay of the impoundment fight. The US Interior Department just announced the award of $849 million for western water projects that include Idaho. If the DOGE duo targets federal monies intended for Idaho, will Idaho’s Congressional delegation have the courage to call foul?
