Power of the Purse V: How Transformations at the National Level Threaten Federalism

In four recent posts, I explained how President Trump is seizing large parts of the Power of the Purse from Congress and how this has led to restructuring within Congress, the Executive Branch, and the courts. In general, those in each branch adept at bipartisan problem-solving have been sidelined in favor of those that are either hyperpartisan themselves or at least unwilling to moderate the President’s hyperpartisanship. In this final post in this series, I examine how the new, presidentially driven federal Power of the Purse is seriously undermining federalism. I have the utmost respect for the work of Heather Gerken, Jessica Bulman-Pozen, and others describing how states led by the party out of power in the national government may leverage federalism to provide an effective opposition. We certainly have seen plenty of that since President Trump has resumed office. My focus here, however, is the reverse. Rather than considering how oppositional states may force moderation in…