Trump Illegally Blocking FEMA Funds, Top Government Watchdog Concludes

Murray responds as GAO finds-for the 6^th time in recent months-that Trump has illegally impounded funding

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision issued today, which concludes that President Trump has illegally impounded Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which helps local communities address homelessness and provide critical services, as well as the Shelter and Services Program (SSP)-in violation of the Impoundment Control Act (ICA):

"This is another stark reminder of a fact we have known for months: President Trump is breaking the law in order to prevent communities across the country from receiving resources they have been promised, including critical funding to address homelessness. The same guy who says he wants to get people off the streets is blocking funding for communities to tackle homelessness. Donald Trump and Russ Vought need to immediately allow these resources to flow, and Republican lawmakers need to join us insisting every last bit of this funding gets out the door in a fair, impartial way."

In its decision today, the GAO concluded that:

"[C]urrently available evidence indicates that FEMA has violated the ICA by improperly withholding or delaying the obligation or expenditure of budget authority. Specifically, we find that FEMA violated the ICA with regard to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and Shelter and Services Program (SSP). …. Because some of these appropriations are set to expire by the end of the fiscal year, it is crucial that the agency prudently obligates these funds prior to their expiration. …. DHS has not responded to GAO's requests for information regarding the potential impoundment of appropriated funds. …. This process does not grant the President the authority to pass his own laws or to ignore or amend a law duly enacted by Congress. Instead, the President must 'faithfully execute' the law as Congress enacts it. It follows from this that Executive Orders cannot function to repeal or undo legislation. …. Our assessment of publicly available information, including statements by DHS and FEMA officials, historical timing of NOFO publication and obligations, data on USAspending.gov, apportionment data, and information on FEMA's website, indicates that FEMA violated the ICA when it withheld or delayed the obligation of current year funds appropriated for the EFSP and SSP."

GAO also noted that today's decision only speaks to fiscal year 2025 FEMA funds, and it will issue other decisions addressing funds for prior years, as well as funding for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a key disaster preparedness program that the Trump administration announced it was illegally terminating earlier this year.

Presidents do not wield the power to unilaterally withhold or block investments that have been enacted into law through "impoundment." This foundational principle has been affirmed time and again. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 makes this plain and establishes limited procedures the president can and must follow to propose delaying or rescinding enacted funding. The ICA also charges GAO with the responsibility of investigating and reporting to Congress when the president illegally withholds funding.

The GAO has acknowledged that it has opened 46 impoundment investigations and counting.

Today's announcement adds to a growing list of decisions from GAO finding the Trump administration has illegally impounded funding:

1. May: GAO concluded Trump is illegally impounding funding for electric vehicle charging.
2. June: GAO concluded Trump is illegally impounding funding for museums and libraries across America.
3. July: GAO concluded Trump illegally impounded Head Start funding.
4. July: GAO concluded Trump illegally blocked funding for K-12 to make energy efficiency upgrades.
5. August: GAO concluded Trump is illegally impounding NIH medical research funding.
6. September: GAO concluded Trump is illegally impounding FEMA funding.

Since his first hours in office, President Trump has illegally blocked funding owed to communities across the country through a variety of different means. Senate and House Appropriations Committee Democrats have been tracking Trump's funding freeze and found that, as of September 8, President Trump is blocking at least $410 billion in funding owed to the American people.

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