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The Politics Shed- A Free Text Book for all students of Politics.
Congress utilizes the "power of the purse"—granted by Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution—to control government action by either providing or withholding funding.
To ensure that taxes are approved, the Constitution grants Congress the authority to manage government finances. Only Congress can generate income for the federal government. Tax proposals must originate in the House, but the Senate can make changes. Approval from both chambers is necessary for a bill to become law. Government shutdowns occur when the executive and Congress cannot reach a compromise and fail to pass a budget. Most shutdowns are limited and resolve quickly, despite causing minor disruptions due to funding gaps. During a complete shutdown, non-essential federal services like benefit requests, environmental and food safety inspections, and national park access are halted, leading to employee furloughs. Complete shutdowns are highly unpopular due to the inconveniences they create. The 35-day shutdown in 2018-2019 under Trump's administration was the longest in US history. To avoid shutdowns, Congress often adopts temporary "continuing resolutions" for interim funding while negotiating budgets with the president. The executive branch may need to concede to Congress to prevent a federal shutdown. In 2019, Trump discovered a unique method to circumvent Congress's control over government spending by invoking a national emergency to access emergency federal funds for his border wall.
New York Times Feb 17 2026
Shortly after returning to office, President Trump embarked on an aggressive campaign to pare back the core functions of the federal government, unveiling a budget that proposed some of the steepest spending reductions in U.S. history.
Nearly one year later, Congress has rejected much of that vision.
In a little-noticed development, lawmakers have systematically brushed off many of Mr. Trump’s most severe cuts for this fiscal year, leaving intact a vast set of federal education, health, housing and research programs that the White House had tried to slash or eliminate.
Historical and Modern Examples
Ending the Vietnam War (1973–1974): In response to public discontent, Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment in 1973, which prohibited further U.S. military activity in Southeast Asia without specific approval. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1974 further suspended all federal funding for the war, effectively forcing its conclusion.
National Minimum Drinking Age Act (1984): Congress used financial leverage to compel states to raise their legal drinking age to 21. By threatening to withhold 10% of federal highway funds from states that did not comply, Congress influenced state-level law despite lacking the direct constitutional authority to set a national drinking age.
Impoundment Control Act of 1974: After President Richard Nixon refused to spend money that Congress had already allocated (a practice known as "impoundment"), Congress passed this law to restrict the executive's ability to ignore their spending directives. It established the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide non-partisan fiscal analysis.
Affordable Care Act (ACA) Challenges: Congress has used the purse to influence health policy, such as when the House of Representatives sued the Obama administration for spending billions on "cost-sharing" payments that had not been specifically appropriated. Conversely, the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Congress could not withhold all existing Medicaid funding to force states into expanding the program, calling it "unduly coercive".
Recent Budgetary Conflicts:
Border Wall Funding: During the Trump administration, the power of the purse was central to a government shutdown when Congress refused to appropriate the full amount requested for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Student Debt Relief: The Biden administration's student debt relief plan was challenged on the grounds that it required specific congressional appropriation and authority that had not been granted
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