DHS Mass Layoffs Pass Legal Muster—But Other Trump Funding Blocks Don’t
Watchdog says RIFs not illegal, but Trump administration continues to violate federal spending law
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office ruled Thursday that mass layoffs at the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year did not violate federal spending law, even as it found the Trump administration continues to illegally withhold congressionally approved funds in other areas.
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In its decision, GAO concluded that DHS’s March reductions in force (RIFs) at three internal oversight offices—the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman—did not constitute an illegal impoundment under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act.
“A RIF to achieve savings does not run afoul of the ICA as long as any net savings generated from the RIF are offset by other allowable expenses,” GAO said. It added that DHS appeared to be continuing to spend the full fiscal year 2025 appropriations for the affected offices, consistent with legal requirements.
However, GAO also noted that it could not independently verify whether the layoffs produced actual savings, as DHS declined to cooperate with the investigation.
The White House Office of Management and Budget told GAO in May that it would only participate in impoundment investigations when doing so would not interfere with President Trump’s agenda. At that time, GAO had approximately 50 ongoing probes. OMB called the inquiries “voluminous, burdensome and inappropriately invasive.”
While DHS was cleared, GAO found the Department of Energy in violation of the ICA for delaying obligations under the Renew America’s Schools program. The initiative, created in the 2021 infrastructure law, aims to help schools modernize their energy systems. Energy has obligated just 17% of its fiscal 2025 funds for the program and has not spent any of it.
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“Considering that the funds were withheld for policy reasons and the uncertainty of whether DOE has or will resume obligating FY 2025 funds…we conclude DOE violated the ICA,” GAO said.
This marks the fourth time GAO has found the Trump administration to have unlawfully withheld appropriated funds since January. Previous violations involved the Transportation Department, Health and Human Services, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, responded sharply: “Denying schools funding for energy efficiency upgrades that save them money isn’t just illegal, it’s stupid and harmful,” she said. “It’s time President Trump stop blocking this funding alongside all the other key investments he’s holding up.”
The Trump administration has signaled it intends to continue withholding funds it deems inconsistent with its policy priorities. Trump has already signed legislation rescinding over $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding, and OMB Director Russ Vought has suggested further “pocket rescissions” could be used—a tactic GAO has previously ruled the president has no authority to implement.
“We're not ready here to say that we're done with our programmatic review,” Vought told lawmakers last month. “And GAO, quite frankly, is improper to continue to call it an impoundment.”
GAO emphasized that its findings do not take a position on policy outcomes but are aimed at upholding Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
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