Donald Trump

NY Times - President Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter. The ads have run across cable and network television — on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including “Meet the Press,” which Mr. Trump is known to watch.

Independence Journal -- President Trump just canceled $810 million in federal money that Congress already approved, using a rare budget trick that some Republicans and Democrats both call illegal. President Trump ordered $810 million in cuts on September 25, targeting immigration-related services and race-based grant programs.

The White House used a "pocket rescission," a move that delays a funding request until it expires on its own before Congress can act. The Government Accountability Office has previously said this exact tactic breaks federal law.

Critics on both sides of the aisle, including some Republicans, say the maneuver strips Congress of its constitutional power over spending