Trump administration violated the law by withholding some Head Start funds, congressional watchdog finds

Washington — The Trump administration violated federal law by withholding congressionally appropriated funding for the Head Start program from being spent, according to a new report by Congress’s independent watchdog. 

The Government Accountability Office found the Department of Health and Human Services’ Children and Families Services Programs violated the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974 “by withholding funds from expenditure” meant for early childhood development programs. GAO said Congress appropriated the Head Start funding for fiscal year 2025, but between Jan. 20 and April 15 of this year, “HHS significantly reduced the rate of disbursement of funds for Head Start grant programs, as compared to amounts disbursed in the same time period in FY 2024.”

The watchdog said it contacted the federal health department, run since mid-February by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for factual information about the situation and the department’s legal views, but “HHS has not transmitted the requested information.” 

“Given the absence of information from HHS, we have based this letter upon publicly available evidence,” GAO said in its decision published Wednesday. “Because that evidence indicates that HHS withheld appropriated funds from expenditure, and because the burden to justify such withholdings rests with HHS and the executive branch, we conclude that HHS violated the ICA by withholding funds from expenditure.”

Head Start, which serves low-income children in all 50 states, offers nutritional, health and educational services through grant recipients. The 1974 law was passed to prevent the executive branch from withholding congressionally appropriated funds to protect the separation of powers. 

Typically, GAO said it analyzes disbursement schedules and obligational data from an appropriation to see if there is any indication that funding was properly withheld. But the Trump administration, GAO claimed, removed such data from its public websites, contrary to GAO statutory authority to access that info. The information also wasn’t provided when GAO requested it, the congressional office said. 

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Founded in 1921 to help Congress track the use of public funds and control the growing national debt after World War I, the GAO falls within the legislative branch, not the executive branch.

Congress recently passed a roughly $9 billion rescissions package to formally claw back funding previously authorized by Congress, which is the legally appropriate route for undoing congressionally authorized funding.