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Scott Levy

@scott-levy.bsky.social
161 followers 174 following 23 posts

Former General Counsel for White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness & Response Policy; Deputy Health Policy Director for Senate HELP Committee; and staffer for Senate Finance Committee

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Reposted by Scott Levy
Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 28/04/2026
The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for over 2 months, but the Trump administration has largely continued immigration enforcement. Scott Levy explains how Congress could constrain the president's unilateral ability to shift shutdown operations for political advantage.
lawfaremedia.org
The Homeland Security Shutdown and the Power of the Purse
How the executive blunts congressional leverage.
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Reposted by Scott Levy
Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 24/03/2026
The debates about DHS and Iran appropriations assume the long term slush funds the OBBA gave the president for ICE and military ops are constitutional. That premise is mistaken, as @marknevitt.bsky.social and I explain in our draft, now forthcoming in GW Law Review! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The Constitution caps funding for standing armies at 2 years. The Founders feared a permanent federal force with coercive power over civilians. We now have two: ICE & CBP. And Republicans funded both for 4 years. New piece in Just Security w/ Kevin McNellis: www.justsecurity.org/129908/congr...
justsecurity.org
The Army Clause: A Forgotten Constitutional Check on ICE, CBP, and the Pentagon
Why the One Big Beautiful Bill violates a forgotten constitutional check on funding standing armies and how Congress can enforce it now.
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Reposted by Scott Levy
Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
If you're interested in "slush funds" and Congress's power of the purse, which is of course timely as hell, but want an analysis that goes beyond [waves around at all this], see my new piece on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
"Slush Funds" and Congress's Power of the Purse
If there's one point on which everyone agrees in appropriations law, it's that "slush funds" are bad. In the appropriations context, people tend to us
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Reposted by Scott Levy
Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Good to see @chrismurphyct.bsky.social @warren.senate.gov @kaine.senate.gov and @merkley.senate.gov willing to use Congress's power of the purse to try to rein in Trump's actions in Venezuela. thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Venezuelan oil is the latest piece of Trump’s shadow budget, funded by corporations and foreign governments, outside Congress’s control. Retaining & spending this revenue violates the Miscellaneous Receipts Act and Anti-Deficiency Act. How Congress could end it: www.justsecurity.org/125302/shado...
justsecurity.org
How to End Shadow Budget, Protect Congress’s Power of Purse
Unless Congress reasserts control over federal spending, the balance the framers designed could collapse into a self-financing presidency.
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Trump’s “Gold Card” program is now live—effectively a visa-for-cash scheme—allowing $1–$2M “gifts” to the Commerce Department to help qualify for the Card. Commerce is directed to spend these “gifts” to promote commerce. Here’s why it's an illegal slush fund.
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Reposted by Scott Levy
Jim Manley @jamespmanley.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
So, uh/ who paid for this?
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
The Trump administration is building a shadow budget — corporate, billionaire, and foreign money funding everything from a new White House ballroom to possibly even nuclear reactors. My new @justsecurity.org piece lays out fixes Congress should adopt now. www.justsecurity.org/125302/shado...
justsecurity.org
How to End Shadow Budget, Protect Congress’s Power of Purse
Unless Congress reasserts control over federal spending, the balance the framers designed could collapse into a self-financing presidency.
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
The U.S. announced a $350B deal with South Korea on Friday, and withheld the text. South Korea released it. It’s the Japan model again: foreign-funded spending chosen by the president, outside Congress, likely violating appropriations laws + the Treaty Clause. www.korea.kr/common/downl...
korea.kr
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Scott Levy @scott-levy.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
$550 billion in Japanese funding. Directed by the President. Outside Congress’s control. My new @justsecurity.org piece explains how the agreement bypasses the Appropriations Clause and violates the laws that safeguard Congress’s power of the purse. www.justsecurity.org/123478/trump...
justsecurity.org
Trump’s Japan Deal and the Disappearing Appropriations Clause
The deal circumvents the Appropriations Clause and congressional safeguards, creating a system answerable only to the White House.
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Reposted by Scott Levy
Just Security @justsecurity.org · 20/05/2025
Trump’s law firm settlements may violate federal law that guards Congress’ power to control funds, @scott-levy.bsky.social explains. "They mark another step in the erosion of Congress’s power of the purse.” www.justsecurity.org/112943/trump...
justsecurity.org
How Trump’s Law Firm Settlements Circumvent Congress and Violate Federal Spending Laws
The Trump administration has operated outside the appropriations process and congressional oversight through its law firm settlements.
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