What is impoundment? How Trump thinks he can control spending without Congress

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. If “recess appointments” are the unlikely and unprecedented way Trump wants to work around the Senate to get his most controversial nominees in charge of Cabinet agencies, “impoundment” is the unlikely way he envisions shrinking the federal government with or without congressional approval. Trump took the time to record a video about impoundment during the Republican primary season, and he promised seizing control over spending from Congress would be a top priority if he was elected. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974, in Trump’s telling, is “not a very good act; this disaster of a law is clearly unconstitutional, a blatant violation of the separation of powers.” After he reclaims this power, Trump said, “I will then use the president’s long recognized impoundment power to squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy for massive savings.” There will be obstacles. Another Republican who has talked about repealing the Impoundment Control Act is Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohio businessman whom Trump tapped along with Elon Musk to lead the new “Department of Government Efficiency.” Despite its official sounding name, DOGE – named to cross-promote Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency – is an extra-governmental initiative offering suggestions on how to engage in a massive shrinkage of the size of government, but with no authority to execute them.