Trump May Abandon Presidential Duties And Violate The Law By Not Submitting A Budget

The incoming Trump administration is considering violating the law by not submitting a budget for 2018.

Forbes reported, “The Trump administration is seriously thinking about not submitting a budget to Congress next year. Although the Congressional Budget Act requires the president to submit the fiscal 2018 budget to Congress between January 2 and February 6, Trump could easily say that it was the responsibility of the outgoing Obama administration to comply with the law before the new president was sworn in on January 20.”

A violation of the Congressional Budget Act is not a criminal offense, but it would signal that the Trump administration intends to be the least transparent White House in decades.

If Trump refuses to submit a budget, no one will know what his spending priorities are, and more importantly, he won’t have to defend his economic projections or make any of the math add up. By not submitting a budget, Trump will dodge any fiscal accountability for his plans.

One can easily imagine a future where Trump doesn’t submit a budget but instead tweets false information and fuzzy math to try to make his policies add up.

The incoming Trump administration would provide Congress with any guidance as far as spending and priorities are concerned. The former party of fiscal responsibility has become a crowd that isn’t going to try to balance the national checkbook.

The American people should prepare for Republicans to spend money like it is going out of style to benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

The man who as a candidate wouldn’t release his tax returns and his medical records, might not as president release a budget.

All of this is completely in character for an administration that may go down in history as the perfect description of a lawless regime.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association