Trump Weighs Seizing Spending Power: What to Know in Washington

Donald Trump is considering picking a fight to snatch Congress’ purse strings. But first, you should know:

• Republicans look keen to approve Trump’s budget director — despite his push to usurp their spending power.
• FBI director nominee Kash Patel will have to answer for Trump’s shakeups at DOJ before Congress today.
• Lawmakers are sharing condolences and investigations are underway following a crash involving an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River.

Trump Eyes Fight Over Spending Power

The White House is considering challenging the constitutionality of a 50-year-old law limiting the president’s control over federal spending, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

A slide presentation labeled “confidential” outlines the ways President Donald Trump’s administration could start a quarrel over the Impoundment Control Act — a key component of the Trump administration’s goal to usurp the power of the purse from Congress. And it’s prepared for a legal battle ahead, according to a person familiar.

The document recommends a series of actions to potentially wrestle control away from Congress, including “attempt to restore impoundment authority by challenging the ICA’s constitutionality in court, focusing on its violation of the separation of powers” and “seek legal precedent to affirm the President’s Article II powers.” Another is to “use executive orders to impound funds exceeding legislative intent or conflicting with constitutional duties, citing national security, fiscal waste, or statutory ambiguities.”

It also suggests the White House’s clearinghouse for agency rules and regulation, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, should be able to exercise “regulatory review authority” over “historically independent agencies, as determined legally permissible by the Office of Legal Counsel.”

The document says officials should propose legislation to “cap automatic pay raises, such as cost-of-living adjustments” for “higher-earning” federal employees, “reform federal compensation to align more closely with private sector benchmarks” by adjusting pay “based on regional and occupational demand rather than blanket raises” and “shift more retirement costs to employees.” There should also be “political oversight” in employee evaluations tied to pay and promotions, that build in “explicit policy goals into performance in appraisal systems,” the document said. Read More

And Republican support for RUSSELL VOUGHT is steady, even as the Trump administration zigzags its way through the crisis spurred by the White House’s proposed funding pause, Jack Fitzpatrick reports.

The Senate Budget Committee votes today on Vought’s nomination to serve as Trump’s budget director. No GOP members of the panel spoke out against him, despite consternation over the memo calling for a pause on a broad swath of federal funding. Some members say Vought will be easily confirmed.

It would signal a willingness among Republicans to hand more power over the federal budget to the president. Vought said he believes current restrictions on the president’s ability to unilaterally delay spending — detailed in the ICA — are unconstitutional. Read More

Read BGOV’s Congress Tracker for our breakdown of lawmakers’ agenda and the politics driving it.

Condolences, Investigations Arise in Wake of DCA Plane Crash

Lawmakers posted their shock and condolences on social media after an American Airlines jet from Wichita, Kan. and a military helicopter collided as the plane approached Washington Ronald Reagan Airport, sending both aircraft into the icy Potomac River.

The FAA will brief Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today, the chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee announced in a post on X.

• “While we don’t yet know how many on board were lost, we know there are fatalities,” he added.

The NTSB will lead the investigation, aided by the FAA.

Sean Duffy, who as Transportation secretary oversees the FAA, was confirmed on Tuesday. Speaking Wednesday at a briefing, he said there will be “a review of what happened here tonight, and after the FAA studies what happened, we will take appropriate action if necessary, to modify flight paths and permissions.”

• “We’re waiting for more concrete information that would indicate what transpired, how this happened,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told reporters at the airport. “But more importantly, we’re hoping that there are survivors.” Read More

Further Coverage:

• Pentagon Launches Probe of Air Crash in Hegseth’s First Big Test
• Midair Collision Over Washington Puts Spotlight on Rare Event

Trump’s FBI Pick Patel Faces Critics

Trump’s vision for the Justice Department gets an early political test today, when FBI director nominee Kash Patel faces lawmakers who need to approve him for the post.

Patel was always headed for opposition from Senate Democrats, who claim he’ll erode political independence at the FBI. Those critics now have fresh fodder to try to convince a handful of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to help scuttle his nomination.

Trump’s changes at the DOJ stand out amid the upheaval coursing through the federal bureaucracy because of the vast powers wielded at its “Main Justice” headquarters, US attorney offices across the country and agencies like the FBI. The department will be on the front lines both enforcing and defending Trump’s agenda. The redirection reverberated among career lawyers and officials based in Washington and spread out in DOJ offices around the country, according to current and former employees, who asked not to be identified discussing internal conversations.

Patel is the first nominee for a key law enforcement agency who will testify since the blitz of activity at DOJ. How far he’d go as head of the FBI to pursue Trump’s agenda promises to be a consistent theme today. Read More

Up to six top FBI executives were told to expect reassignments if Patel is confirmed as director, part of a wider overhaul at an agency Trump derided as partisan, said four people familiar with the process, Ben Penn reports. Read More

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Senate Commerce Panel to Vote on Lutnick’s Nomination Feb. 5

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The Trump Administration

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Trump’s DOJ Weighs Dropping Case Against NYC Mayor, NYT Says

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