Trump's Shifting Shutdown Tests Law Dating to Ulysses Grant

1870 law limits what agencies can do without federal funding
Employees face fines, jail for violating Antideficiency Act

A lot of people are getting really nervous about the shutdown, according to Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jennifer A Dlouhy

January 11, 2019 at 9:00 AM UTC

Updated on

January 11, 2019 at 3:45 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

More than a century ago, lawmakers grew so fed up with federal agencies spending money they didn’t have that Congress passed a law to rein them in.

Now, legal experts say President Donald Trump may be violating that 149-year-old statute by keeping agencies running despite the budget impasse that has cut off funding for roughly a quarter of the federal government.