Sean Davis

Yeah, so it was the Impoundment Control Act. I don't remember the exact year that it was passed. I'm going to say it was probably the mid-70s. I have 1974 in my head for whatever reason. And what it did was it constrained the ability of the executive to stop the flow of funding, notwithstanding congressional appropriation. And for...

Yeah, so it was the Impoundment Control Act. I don't remember the exact year that it was passed. I'm going to say it was probably the mid-70s. I have 1974 in my head for whatever reason. And what it did was it constrained the ability of the executive to stop the flow of funding, notwithstanding congressional appropriation. And for...

probably 200 years, 150 to 200 years, it was just accepted that when Congress appropriated money, that was meant to be a ceiling. It was not meant to be a floor. That if Congress says, I want you to spend up to a billion dollars on this thing, that was giving the administration the flexibility to spend that amount.

probably 200 years, 150 to 200 years, it was just accepted that when Congress appropriated money, that was meant to be a ceiling. It was not meant to be a floor. That if Congress says, I want you to spend up to a billion dollars on this thing, that was giving the administration the flexibility to spend that amount.

that it was not really until this Impoundment Control Act was enacted that people decided that appropriations were actually statutory floors, that the executive had no choice, no flexibility to execute on these for anything less than whatever the bare minimum was that was appropriated. And it's actually a big constitutional fight.

that it was not really until this Impoundment Control Act was enacted that people decided that appropriations were actually statutory floors, that the executive had no choice, no flexibility to execute on these for anything less than whatever the bare minimum was that was appropriated. And it's actually a big constitutional fight.

You're going to have people who believe more in executive authority saying, Hey, the president had this power for 200 years, and it wasn't until this unconstitutional law was passed in the wake of Watergate that they decided suddenly the executive couldn't do that anymore.

You're going to have people who believe more in executive authority saying, Hey, the president had this power for 200 years, and it wasn't until this unconstitutional law was passed in the wake of Watergate that they decided suddenly the executive couldn't do that anymore.

And I think impoundment is really going to become the big battle over the next four years in the Trump administration because we have a debt that's almost $40 trillion. We're almost hitting the debt limit. Congress has shown no interest in anything even remotely resembling impoundment. spending restraint.

And I think impoundment is really going to become the big battle over the next four years in the Trump administration because we have a debt that's almost $40 trillion. We're almost hitting the debt limit. Congress has shown no interest in anything even remotely resembling impoundment. spending restraint.

And so I think this impoundment stuff is going to end up being the big constitutional fight, at least on the spending front, that we're going to see for the next couple of years.

And so I think this impoundment stuff is going to end up being the big constitutional fight, at least on the spending front, that we're going to see for the next couple of years.

No, it's not working for them at all. And I was actually laughing last night. I was following Adam Schiff, which can be hazardous for your health. So I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. But I was following him on X and he was talking about what he was doing yesterday is we're doing the filibuster and we're going to block this. And it was funny to me because they're not filibustering.

No, it's not working for them at all. And I was actually laughing last night. I was following Adam Schiff, which can be hazardous for your health. So I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. But I was following him on X and he was talking about what he was doing yesterday is we're doing the filibuster and we're going to block this. And it was funny to me because they're not filibustering.

cloture, which is when debate ends on on Russ votes nomination, was invoked earlier this week by a six vote margin. And what happens in in the Senate with that procedure is once you invoke cloture, there's 30 hours of what's called post cloture debate that allows people to have their final say before you get to a vote on final confirmation or passage. that's all locked in.

cloture, which is when debate ends on on Russ votes nomination, was invoked earlier this week by a six vote margin. And what happens in in the Senate with that procedure is once you invoke cloture, there's 30 hours of what's called post cloture debate that allows people to have their final say before you get to a vote on final confirmation or passage. that's all locked in.

I mean, the schedule is locked. Russ is getting a vote tonight at, I think, 7 p.m. Eastern. There's not a single thing any Democrat or any senator can do about it. And so I found it really funny to see this kind of impotent chest-thumping from Schiff and Democrats and Rachel Maddow. They know they have no power to stop anything because the 2024 election was a disaster for them.

I mean, the schedule is locked. Russ is getting a vote tonight at, I think, 7 p.m. Eastern. There's not a single thing any Democrat or any senator can do about it. And so I found it really funny to see this kind of impotent chest-thumping from Schiff and Democrats and Rachel Maddow. They know they have no power to stop anything because the 2024 election was a disaster for them.

And so now they're just trying to save face and try to prove to their dwindling numbers of voters that they're still in the fight and they still matter. And the truth of the matter is they don't.

And so now they're just trying to save face and try to prove to their dwindling numbers of voters that they're still in the fight and they still matter. And the truth of the matter is they don't.