This Constitution |  Season 2, Episode 7

Checks, Balances, and Budget Showdowns

The President can’t spend a dime without Congress. But how often does Congress actually say no?

In this episode, hosts Savannah Eccles Johnston and Matthew Brogdon examine the constitutional power of the purse and how budget appropriations and oversight give Congress a critical check on the presidency. From historical roots in the British monarchy to today’s broken appropriations process, they unpack how Congress’s power to control money—and monitor how it’s spent—shapes our modern government.

They also explore the decline of meaningful oversight, the rise of political theater, and why the legislative branch struggles to rein in a powerful executive. From Defense Department spending to GAO reports no one reads, this episode dives into how Congress could reclaim its institutional strength… if it wanted to.

In This Episode

• (00:00:00) Introduction to oversight and budgets
• (00:00:51) The power of the purse—Congress controls spending
• (00:02:12) Stopgaps, omnibus bills, and budget dysfunction
• (00:03:31) Tinkering with executive budget requests
• (00:04:25) FDR and the rise of presidential budgeting
• (00:06:17) Congressional restraint and presidential discretion
• (00:06:44) Why Congress won’t cut war spending
• (00:09:32) Standing armies and shifting public sentiment
• (00:11:05) Can presidents impound money Congress appropriates?
• (00:13:25) The Impoundment Control Act
• (00:14:42) Appropriations vs. expenditures—who writes the check?
• (00:18:03) How Congress uses budgets to shape foreign policy
• (00:20:34) Oversight as a check on executive agencies
• (00:22:32) The promise (and failure) of congressional oversight
• (00:24:28) Oversight vs. journalism—what’s Congress’s role?
• (00:26:42) Theater vs. actual oversight behind the scenes
• (00:28:56) Committees, staffing, and the hollowing of Congress
• (00:34:10) Losing institutional knowledge in public service
• (00:36:15) How to fix it—pay, staffing, and retention

Notable Quotes

• [00:04:25] “Without that constitutional requirement, you would see the complete collapse of the checks and balances system in favor of just presidential dictatorship.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• [00:07:49] “You don’t want to be seen as the Congress who cuts the budget for the Defense Department.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• [00:13:25] “The President doesn’t get that kind of discretion—though they’ve created a method by which he could if he needed to.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• [00:20:34] “Not only does Congress fund agencies—they also get to ask: ‘Do you suck at your job?’” — Savannah Eccles Johnston
• [00:25:52] “Congress is trying to go viral on YouTube instead of doing oversight.” — Matthew Brogdon
• [00:33:32] “Budgets and oversight have been hollowed out. But if Congress reclaimed regular order and institutional thinking, it could pull power back from the presidency.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston