GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved spending

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved…?

Of the 52 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 60% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 4% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 54. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.

Is GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved… left or right?

Neither side dominates it. Of the 52 rated outlets on this story, 60% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 4% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.

Is the coverage of GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved… biased?

GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved spending is one event reported by 54 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.

Which side is not reporting GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved…?

When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.

Which outlets covered GAO says Trump cannot withhold $800 million in congressionally approved…?

54 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.

What is the GAO's finding on President Trump's spending plan?

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that President Donald Trump is not permitted to withhold more than $800 million in spending approved by Congress beyond the end of the fiscal year. The agency stated that the administration's plan violates the Impoundment Control Act.

Why does the GAO consider the administration's plan illegal?

The GAO's general counsel wrote that any withholding of appropriated funds beyond their expiration date subverts both the constitutional process for enacting federal law and Congress's constitutional power of the purse. The agency described the maneuver, known as a 'pocket rescission,' as illegal.

How much money is the Trump administration attempting to impound?

The Trump administration announced its intention to impound more than $800 million from 11 appropriations accounts. The GAO's determination concerns the legality of withholding these funds beyond the end of the fiscal year.