Why it matters: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is already $1 billion over budget by one estimate, with more than three months left in the fiscal year. That’s alarmed lawmakers in both parties — and raised the possibility of Trump clawing funds from agencies to feed ICE.
It’s cause he can’t dictate that. Tariffs are just income to pay bills, congress sets budgets and even they aren’t too happy with a budget that’s increased spending. So it’s even likely his increases to ICE DHS that he requested won’t make it through.
He could try to siphon money from elsewhere, but that’d just get caught up in the courts (and he’d probably loose as congress owns the purse).
The Republicans control both houses of Congress. But the usual rules don’t seem to apply anymore. Isn’t Trump currently starting a war without the approval of Congress?
This may be more of an opinion, but Trump hasn’t really done anything too crazy when it comes to money (the biggest line I think he crossed was moving some defense funds around for his wall in his first term).
As for the starting a war without congress. That’s a tricky one. Technically the US has given a lot of emergency powers to the President so that he could potentially drag the US into a war, but to sustain it would require acts of Congress.