The Constitution is clear about many things. There are three branches of government. Presidents can be elected to only two terms. And Congress, not the executive branch, has the power of the purse, meaning the power to control federal spending. It is right there, as clear as day in Article I, Section 9rich 888, Clause 7: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”

This is a bedrock principle of our government, which President Trump and his unchecked billionaire buddy are attempting to subvert. They are trying to do so through a variety of avenues, including using social media platforms to berate elected officials into submitting to their demands, impounding funds — which is nothing less than stealing congressionally appropriated dollars promised to Americans — and empowering the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Among national universities, Princeton was ranked No. 1 again, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Stanford, which tied for third last year,Milyon88 casinos fell to No. 4. U.S. News again judged Williams College the best among national liberal arts colleges. Spelman College was declared the country’s top historically Black institution.

Calls for school crackdowns have mounted with reports of cyberbullying among adolescents and studies indicating that smartphones, which offer round-the-clock distraction and social media access, have hindered academic instruction and the mental health of children.

What all these tactics to get around Congress have in common is simple: They are undemocratic. I will not surrender the authority of Congress and the Appropriations Committee, where I serve as ranking member, to the tide of cronyism and unlawful decision making that threatens to unravel our constitutional form of government.

The warning signs were clear at the end of the 118th Congress late last year. I watched what should have been an uncontroversial bill to prevent a government shutdown, which included funding for disaster relief and a variety of bipartisan priorities, get derailed and come close to defeat when an unelected billionaire, Elon Musk, decided to intervene in the legislative process and browbeat Republicans into opposing their own leadership’s priorities.

The Appropriations Committees — Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate — negotiated the funding portions of this bill. In this committee, we carry out Congress’s power of the purse by providing the financial resources to programs and agencies that serve the American people.

It does not always go smoothly. I have long advocated funding the government in an orderly and regular fashion by passing annual appropriations bills, a duty that has often been derailed by Republican dysfunction or demands for untenable spending cuts. At the end of the day, our work is about funding the basic services Americans rely on. It is a serious obligation, and it requires us to work together.

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