Trump Administration Illegally Withheld Head Start Funds, Watchdog Finds
The Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration illegally withheld funding from Head Start, a roughly $12 billion federal child care program serving about 800,000 low-income children, marking the third time this year the nonpartisan watchdog has determined the administration defied Congress on spending. Between January and mid-April, the administration significantly slowed the disbursement of funds that Congress had already approved, causing serious financial hardship to child care centers and prompting an ACLU lawsuit before funding flows returned to normal levels by June. The GAO concluded the slowdown violated a 1970s anti-impoundment law that limits the president's ability to withhold congressionally approved funds — a law the White House budget director Russell Vought has argued is unconstitutional. The findings have intensified a broader battle between the White House and Congress over spending authority, with Democratic lawmakers calling for Vought's removal and the GAO signaling it may seek outside legal counsel in case it needs to sue the administration to force compliance.