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Home > Videos | 🏛️🇺🇸📖 Heather Cox Richardson

💰➡️🪖 Why It Matters That Trump Rerouted Money to Pay the Troops | Explainer

🤖 AI Summary

🌰 Consolidation of power by the executive branch is the critical issue, not the payment of military personnel [08:34].

  • 💸 Rerouting Funds: The administration announced payment for furloughed military personnel, whose paychecks were due after the fiscal year ended on September 30th, using money from a different pot of money [00:50], which was budgeted over two years [01:30].
  • 🛑 Constitutional Violation: The act violates the Anti-Deficiency Act [03:38], a law since about 1870 that prevents the government from pre-spending money or agreeing to contracts that are not funded [03:54].
  • 🏛️ Congressional Authority: The foundational principle of the Constitution is that the government cannot spend our tax dollars without our say in it [04:47]. Only Congress, the legislative branch, can make appropriations and decide how tax dollars are spent [06:59].
  • 🏠 House Role: Crucially, only the House of Representatives can discuss and pass any measure that is going to raise taxes or start appropriations [07:12].
  • 👑 Historical Context: This principle goes back to the Magna Carta of 1215 [05:10] and was the reason the founders rebelled against the British, who sought to establish the principle that Parliament could tax colonists whether or not they had representation [05:59].
  • ❌ Executive Power: The executive branch only has the power to make sure that laws are faithfully executed [07:51]. By paying the troops with rerouted money, the entire idea that the people get to decide how money is spent is completely negated [08:07].
  • 📰 Political Manipulation: The current House shutdown is to keep from having to swear in a new member who would provide the last signature for a discharge petition to release investigation files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein [02:03].
  • 🚨 Authoritarian Risk: This unilateral action divorces the use of tax dollars from their representatives and is a major step toward the consolidation of an authoritarian power [08:34].

🤔 Evaluation

⚖️ The video strongly asserts that the executive action of rerouting funds is an illegal and authoritarian power grab that violates the constitutional separation of powers, specifically the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Power of the Purse.

  • 📰 Comparison with Reliable Sources: Highly reliable sources, including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Senate Appropriations Committee, and various legal commentators, consistently confirm the video’s core legal claim.
    • 📜 The Senate Appropriations Committee explicitly states that the Constitution gives the Power of the Purse to Congress (Article I, Section 9, Clause 7) and that the President cannot unilaterally withhold (impoundment) or spend funds in excess of appropriations, which is affirmed by the Anti-Deficiency Act and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
    • 💰 Military.com reports that the Pentagon redirected approximately $8 billion in “unobligated” Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds. This provides the crucial unsupported detail of where the money came from and the long-term consequences.
    • 🔬 Diverting RDT&E funds, which support long-term innovation (like research into hypersonic propulsion, AI, and cyber defense), risks pausing new initiatives and creating capability gaps that could surface years later, according to Military.com. The immediate benefit of paying troops is contrasted with the long-term detriment to national security research.
  • 🎯 Topics to Explore for a Better Understanding:
    • ⚖️ The specific legal justification used by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for claiming authority to use unobligated RDT&E funds without an explicit reprogramming request to Congress.
    • 🔎 A detailed examination of the full contents of the discharge petition related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files and the direct legislative process involved in swearing in the new House member.
    • 📚 A deeper analysis of the Unitary Executive Theory, which is a legal concept often used to justify broad executive control over administrative and spending functions, providing a philosophical contrast to the video’s constitutional originalist argument.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: 🏛️ What is the “Power of the Purse” and why is it important in this context?

A: 💰 The “Power of the Purse” is the constitutional authority given exclusively to Congress to control federal spending. 🇺🇸 This power, rooted in the idea of “no taxation without representation” and Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, ensures that tax dollars are spent only as appropriated by law, preventing a chief executive from unilaterally funding their own priorities. 🛑 The video argues that rerouting funds without Congressional approval violates this fundamental check on executive power.

Q: 🛑 What is the Anti-Deficiency Act and what does it prohibit the President from doing?

A: 📜 The Anti-Deficiency Act is a critical fiscal law that evolved since the 1870s and prohibits federal agencies from spending money in advance or in excess of an appropriation or making obligations before funds have been appropriated. ❌ In this situation, the act is cited because the executive branch shifted funds from one specific purpose to another (from R&D to military pay) without the required legislative approval, which is considered an unlawful obligation of funds outside of what Congress authorized.

Q: 🔬 Where did the money to pay the troops during the shutdown come from and what was its original purpose?

A: 💸 The money came from approximately $8 billion in “unobligated” Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds, as reported by Military.com. 🛠️ These funds were originally intended to be the backbone of long-term defense innovation, supporting projects by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and research into advanced technologies like hypersonic propulsion and AI-assisted logistics. 📉 Diverting these funds introduces risk to future military capabilities.

📚 Book Recommendations

Similar Books (Focus on the Power of the Purse and Constitutional Checks)

  • 🇺🇸📜 The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay: Provides the original arguments for the structure of the U.S. government, including the rationale for vesting the power of the purse exclusively in the legislative branch to control government spending.
  • ⚖️ Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (The Red Book) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO): The definitive, multi-volume legal treatise that explains the constitutional and statutory rules governing federal spending, including a detailed analysis of the Anti-Deficiency Act and impoundment.

Contrasting Books (Focus on Executive Power and the Presidency)

  • 👑 The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.: A seminal work that chronicles the historical growth of presidential power, particularly in foreign affairs and war, offering a critical look at how the executive branch can overreach its constitutional limits.
  • 👤 The Unitary Executive: Presidential Power from Washington to Bush by Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo: Presents the legal theory that the Constitution grants the President singular, comprehensive authority over the entire executive branch, a concept often used to justify broad presidential control over administrative and funding decisions.
  • ☕ The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood: Explains the transformation of American society and politics during the revolutionary era, providing deep context for why the principle of legislative control over taxation and spending was so vital to the founding generation.
  • 👑 Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter by David Starkey: A historical account that details the origins and significance of the 1215 document, highlighting the historical roots of limiting executive authority (the King) to raise revenue without approval from a legislative body.

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