Statement on Signing the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019
Issued 2018-09-21 by Donald J. Trump
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Trump signed the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019, which provides federal funding for these government areas. However, he issued a signing statement raising objections to certain provisions in the law. This statement announced how his administration would interpret and apply specific parts of the legislation.
The President objected to two types of requirements in the bill. First, he challenged provisions requiring him to notify or get certification from Congress before directing certain military actions, stating these requirements only apply when feasible and consistent with his authority as Commander in Chief. Second, he objected to numerous provisions that require congressional committee approval before the executive branch can spend or move money around, calling these "impermissible forms of congressional aggrandizement." He stated his administration would notify committees and seriously consider their recommendations, but would not treat spending decisions as dependent on committee approval.
This matters because it affects how the executive branch implements the funding law Congress passed. The statement announces the President's intent to treat certain congressional oversight requirements as advisory rather than binding. Whether presidents have constitutional authority to use signing statements in this way—to effectively decline to follow parts of laws they sign—is a matter of ongoing legal debate.
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Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This signing statement ("Statement on Signing the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019") was issued alongside a bill the President signed into law. Signing statements allow presidents to express constitutional or policy objections to specific provisions of legislation they have just signed. Their legal weight and constitutional propriety have been contested since the practice became common in the 1980s.
Critics — including the American Bar Association — argue that using signing statements to announce an intent to not enforce portions of a law effectively creates a line-item veto, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York (1998). Defenders argue presidents have a duty to identify constitutional concerns and that signing statements are a legitimate form of executive interpretation. The constitutional propriety depends on whether this specific statement announces non-enforcement or merely records the President's views.
Official Summary
Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2018 Statement on Signing the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019 September 21, 2018 Today, I have signed into law H.R. 5895, the "Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019" (the "Act"). Two provisions of the bill (Division C, sections 113 and 129) purport to require that the Congress receive a notification or certification before the President may direct certain military actions. I reiterate the longstanding understanding of the executive branch that these types of provisions encompass only actions for which such advance notification or certification is feasible and consistent with the President's exclusive constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief. Numerous provisions of the bill (including, for example, Division A, section 101(a)(3)–(5), section 201(a)(3)–(7), and section 301(e); and Division C, sections 132, 201, 202, 218, 225, 229, 230, 231, 248, and 252) purport to condition the authority of the Executive to spend or reallocate funds on the approval of congressional committees. These provisions are impermissible forms of congressional aggrandizement in the execution of th