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The Trump White House is not taking the loss in its attempt to freeze federal funding well.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X:
This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.
There is just one small problem. The funding freeze order and the OMB memo are the same thing.
The reality is that any unilateral funding freeze undertaken by any president is unconstitutional. The nation went through this the last time Trump was president and he tried to withhold aid to Ukraine. That saga ended with his first impeachment.
Presidents do not have the power to decide if they are going to spend money that Congress has appropriated.
Trump has no say in spending or withholding funds.
The Trump administration is trying to change the conversation to make it seem like a president has this power. He/she does not, and will not, unless the Constitution is changed.
Even when they lose, the Trump administration will lie and say that they won.
The White House does not want to admit that they rescinded the order because no president has this power, and they were attempting to push the limits to see what they could get away with.
Trump lost big and was reminded that this country is a democracy with checks, balances, and separation of powers.
No president is a king and gets to govern with absolute power.
Democrats and the American people have been rejecting Trump’s power grabs, which has left his administration licking its wounds and trying to spin its losses.
What do you think of the White House spin? Share your thoughts in the comments below.