Jeffries: Trump "claimed for weeks he did not have the authority" to pay TSA..."of course he did"

[Miles Archer]

Aaron Rupar

‪@atrupar.com‬
CNN: The administration is moving forward with an executive action to pay TSA agents. Is that something you support?

JEFFRIES: We called on Donald Trump to do this weeks ago. Trump for weeks claimed he did not have this authority. Of course he did.

CNN: The administration is moving forward with an executive action to pay TSA agents. Is that something you support?

JEFFRIES: We called on Donald Trump to do this weeks ago. Trump for weeks claimed he did not have this authority. Of course he did.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-27T21:13:07.609Z

[Chasstev365]

1. But as king, he can decree anything, right?

I think this is the only time you will hear the Orange Blob claim he doesn't have the authority for anything.

[summer_in_TX]

2. Jeffries said that??? That's NOT what the Constitution says.

The Constitution prohibits the president from spending any money that has not been appropriated by Congress. Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 states: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law,” establishing that only Congress has the power of the purse, and all federal spending must be authorized by law.

This requirement is a foundational element of the separation of powers, ensuring that the executive branch cannot unilaterally spend public funds. Even in emergencies, spending without appropriation is constitutionally prohibited, although historical actions—such as Lincoln’s unauthorized expenditure at the start of the Civil War—have occurred under extraordinary circumstances. Courts have consistently reinforced that the president must faithfully execute spending laws as enacted, without substituting personal policy priorities.

It may not seem like a constitutional crisis, but it is. Trump just seized power the Constitution does not give him. Yet I know we all want the TSA workers to be paid.