President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled, or threatened to cancel, billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and wants to go after even more funding during the shutdown. But an Associated Press analysis shows courts have hampered his earlier efforts to challenge Congress’ power of the purse. As of early October, court orders were at least temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s spending cuts in 66 of 152 lawsuits. The count reflects decisions by district courts, appeals courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. But legal experts say two recent Supreme Court rulings could help the administration ultimately gain more control over government spending.
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