Your Constitutional Minute: Article I, Section 8

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution:

“The Congress shall have Power . . . [1] To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; . . . [2] To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; . . .”

Trump’s Action:

President Trump imposed across-the-board blanket freezes on payments to all recipients of federal funding associated with nearly all federal programs across the Nation. These included (but were not limited to) healthcare funding to education funding to critical energy and infrastructure grants.

The Courts:

Several federal courts have ruled that the freeze violates the Constitution and ignores the separation of powers. Congress has the exclusive power to determine spending. Trump has ignored those courts and violated orders to lift his blanket freeze on federal spending, despite several courts finding that he has failed to comply with their orders.

Sheila Suess Kennedy, J.D.