Dem
47
GOP
53
Maybe this would have been a big scandal in some other era, but maybe not. Richard Nixon did it, and while he did get brought down by scandal, this wasn't the one. Barack Obama did it, too, sorta, and while the Republicans tried to make hay out of it, it didn't go anywhere.
What we speak of is impoundment, particularly impoundment of a partisan nature. Congress, over the past several years, has allocated a lot of money for research into green energy and other climate-change-fighting technologies. Donald Trump and his minions hate green energy, they hate egghead scientists, and they hate blue states. So, it is no surprise that the White House canceled $7.5 billion in environment-focused research grants that had already been awarded to scholars in blue states.
It was already obvious that blue states were being targeted, but it's now an undisputed fact, as the Trump administration admitted to the behavior in a court filing that sharp-eyed reporters for The New York Times just happened to catch. The lawsuit in question was filed by a group of California scientists who are trying to get their research money back, and in the linked document, administration officials concede the decisions were based on "political criteria," with that criteria being "Did this state vote for Kamala Harris and does it also have two Democratic senators?"
This is quite clearly against the law, as it violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. But don't hold your breath waiting for Donald Trump or OMB Director Russell Vought or anyone else to be held accountable. There likely isn't a criminal act here, especially now that the Supreme Court has made clear that Trump is above the law when he is performing his official duties. Flagrantly disregarding the Impoundment Control Act is most certainly an impeachable offense, and the Democrats might just prove that if they do well in the midterm elections. But neither Trump nor Vought nor anyone else is going to be convicted or removed by the Senate.
It is also improbable there will be any political fallout. Impoundment is pretty wonky and, besides, most voters don't see why it's their problem if a bunch of guys and gals in lab coats don't get their money. The voters care about gas prices, not Bunsen burners. As we note above, voters didn't care when it was Nixon or Obama, and Trump has a considerably thicker coating of teflon than either of those two men. It is true that the amount here is much larger than in the cases of the two previous presidents, but what's a few hundred million (or billion) dollars here and there?
Pretty much the only justice is that the scientists will be able to sue to get their funding restored, and most or all of them will probably win. One can only hope their labs and/or their research are not completely thrown off kilter by not having enough money to operate for a year or two. (Z)