President Donald Trump has declared an all-out war on congressional power. And his allies on Capitol Hill aren\u2019t doing much to fend off the invasion.<\/p>\n

From firing a slate of inspectors general to changing citizenship qualifications to delaying a ban on the TikTok app, the president is running roughshod over Congress in his first week back in office. The effort culminated Monday night with a budget office memo freezing \u201call federal financial assistance\u201d pending a review by administration political appointees.<\/p>\n

The effort represents a frontal assault on the legislative branch\u2019s core constitutional power to raise and spend federal funds \u2014 the \u201cpower of the purse\u201d that has been zealously protected by generations of congressional leaders of both parties. A federal judge temporarily blocked the move<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Yet many senior Republicans quickly fell in line, brushing off the implications of the freeze \u2014 with some saying they expected it to be narrowed and many others defending it as Trump simply making good on his electoral mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to understand, he was elected to shake up the status quo,\u201d said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer<\/a> (R-Minn.), calling the Office of Management and Budget order \u201cexactly what he was elected to do.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s a long time coming,\u201d added House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain<\/a> (R-Mich.). \u201cI hope this sets a precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune<\/a> (R-S.D.) also downplayed the freeze as a \u201cpreliminary step,\u201d describing it as \u201ca normal practice at the beginning of the administration until they have an opportunity to review how the money is being spent.\u201d (He later called for \u201cadditional clarity\u201d from the White House.)<\/p>\n

Democrats, meanwhile, declared the situation nothing short of a \u201cconstitutional crisis,\u201d as Sen. Jeff Merkley<\/a> (D-Ore.) told reporters Tuesday. Party leaders said state attorneys general were readying lawsuits to challenge the freeze, and they called for the cancellation of a planned committee vote on Trump\u2019s budget director nominee, Russ Vought.<\/p>\n

House Democrats have scheduled a Wednesday meeting to launch a \u201ccomprehensive three-pronged counteroffensive\u201d to include litigation, legislation and a \u201cDay of Action\u201d to raise alarms about the funding halt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most serious assault on the constitutional separation of powers and the authority of our Congress in the history of the country,\u201d said Sen. Angus King<\/a> (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats. \u201cI can never recall a time where the executive essentially tried to usurp the clear constitutional authority of Congress to authorize and fund programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s actions amount to the most significant test yet of just how much deference he can expect out of the Republican congressional majorities. Already he has shown that he is dealing with a strikingly more malleable GOP than he had when he was last inaugurated in 2017 and there was a significant element of the party \u2014 including then-leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan \u2014 willing to buck his wishes.<\/p>\n

While top leaders including Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson <\/a>minimized the threat to the institution they lead, there was more ambivalence to be found further down the GOP ranks.<\/p>\n

Sen. Kevin Cramer<\/a> (R-N.D.), a Trump ally, said the president was \u201ctesting his own authority\u201d and would soon back away.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly an all-encompassing freeze on grant programs and appropriations can’t long endure,\u201d he said. \u201cThey’ll go through it, probably item by item, line by line, budget by budget. Who knows how they’ll do it. But, for now, it’s a pretty major test of separation of powers.\u201d<\/p>\n