White House Considers Dozens of New Ways to Seize Spending Power

  • Battle over spending is a top priority for Trump, person says
  • Recommendations push limits of executive branch authority

Donald Trump

Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg
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The White House is considering challenging the constitutionality of a 50-year-old law limiting the president’s control over federal spending, easing the firing of civil servants, curbing pay and reining in independent agencies, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News.

The ideas, detailed in a slide presentation labeled “confidential,” outline the ways President Donald Trump’s administration could try to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and its workforce — though it’s unclear whether the president has the legal authority to carry out the suggested actions.