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Republican Attacks On GAO Escalate After Office Condemns DOGE Cuts
A top Trump administration official and Republicans in Congress are upping their attacks on the Government Accountability Office in light of its finding last week that one element of the Trump administration’s DOGE rampage was done in violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
White House budget chief Russ Vought joined a few members of Congress who posted on social media in recent days downplaying the legitimacy of the office, which is an independent nonpartisan agency embedded within the legislative branch that makes recommendations for lawmakers to consider as part of its legislating. The GAO typically focuses on reviewing federal spending, making recommendations on cost savings and waste and investigating how policies are being put into practice by federal agencies. Last week it found that the Trump administration had violated the Impoundment Control Act when it withheld funding allocated by the Biden-era infrastructure law to build more electric vehicle charging stations around the country.
Trump allies are reportedly upset with the GAO about two other things, outside the impoundment finding (which was the outcome of just one of almost 40 investigations the office is currently conducting to look into the DOGE spending freezes of congressionally appropriated funding).
The head of GAO Gene Dodaro reportedly rebuffed Elon Musk when his DOGE pals tried to bring a team in to work on downsizing the agency, as it has done with several departments and independent agencies embedded within the executive branch. It is, of course, not an executive branch agency.
Last week, “Senate Republicans disregarded GAO guidance and nixed waivers allowing California to set its own pollution standards, even after the watchdog concluded that the Senate couldn’t do that under a simple-majority threshold,” Politico reported.
White House budget chief Russ Vought joined a few members of Congress who posted on social media in recent days downplaying the legitimacy of the office, which is an independent nonpartisan agency embedded within the legislative branch that makes recommendations for lawmakers to consider as part of its legislating. The GAO typically focuses on reviewing federal spending, making recommendations on cost savings and waste and investigating how policies are being put into practice by federal agencies. Last week it found that the Trump administration had violated the Impoundment Control Act when it withheld funding allocated by the Biden-era infrastructure law to build more electric vehicle charging stations around the country.
Trump allies are reportedly upset with the GAO about two other things, outside the impoundment finding (which was the outcome of just one of almost 40 investigations the office is currently conducting to look into the DOGE spending freezes of congressionally appropriated funding).
The head of GAO Gene Dodaro reportedly rebuffed Elon Musk when his DOGE pals tried to bring a team in to work on downsizing the agency, as it has done with several departments and independent agencies embedded within the executive branch. It is, of course, not an executive branch agency.
Last week, “Senate Republicans disregarded GAO guidance and nixed waivers allowing California to set its own pollution standards, even after the watchdog concluded that the Senate couldn’t do that under a simple-majority threshold,” Politico reported.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things-stand/republican-attacks-on-gao-escalate-after-office-condemns-doge-cuts