Humanitarian groups cannot challenge Trump's impoundment of foreign aid grants, appeals court rules
Comptrollers general are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve for 15-year terms and cannot be reappointed. The current comptroller general is Gene Dodaro, who was nominated by Barack Obama in 2010, and his term expires later this year.
The Impoundment Control Act, Henderson wrote, outlines a notification process between the GAO and lawmakers that must be carried out before the comptroller general can sue the president over an alleged impoundment.
'It does not make sense that the Congress would craft a complex scheme of interbranch dialogue but sub silentio also provide a backdoor for citizen suits at any time and without notice to the Congress of the alleged violation,' Henderson wrote.
Supreme Court precedent has 'rejected the idea that a plaintiff may transform a statutory claim into a constitutional one to avoid limits on judicial review,' she wrote.
A spokesperson for the Global Health Council, the lawsuit's lead plaintiff, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump officials applauded the ruling on social media.
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