A trio of freshmen House Democrats introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow individuals to sue the government — and even specific officials like Elon Musk — over decisions that block congressionally approved spending.
California Reps. Sam Liccardo and Dave Min, along with Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman, introduced the Protect Our Constitution and Communities Act to address cuts from DOGE. It’s meant to be an enforcement mechanism to ensure the executive branch follows laws like the Impoundment Control Act, which limits the president’s ability to block congressionally appropriated funds.
Although the Democrats’ bill is dead-on-arrival in a Republican-controlled Congress, Liccardo said he hopes it can serve as a blueprint for future legislation.
“We need to buttress the Constitution and provide a bulwark against future authoritarianism from this administration or any others,” Liccardo told NOTUS.
In the past few months, universities, government agencies and other grant recipients across the country have faced sudden freezes on their previously approved funds. DOGE cuts have disproportionately impacted blue states.
If the bill were enacted by Congress, it would allow individuals and institutions to sue over such decisions.
“If DOGE were to decide that any NIH grants that contain the word diversity should be slashed,” Liccardo said, then an institution or an individual laid off as a result of that project “could bring a lawsuit.”
It’s unlikely but Democrats could demand adding some of the language on this bill to a piece of must-pass legislation if the Republican majority can’t find the votes in their conference, Min said.
The bill would also provide a mechanism for lawsuits to take away the qualified immunity from certain government workers so “someone like Elon Musk would be personally liable for the billions of dollars of harm caused by these reckless and half-hazard decisions,” Liccardo said.
Protect Our Constitution and Communities Act would also cover legal spending for individuals suing the government and triple the damage liability if courts found the impoundments were cut in bad faith.
“The problem is that they are moving fast and breaking things. They are deleting and terminating entire agencies,” said Min. “And two months later a court will rule that they can’t fire all these people… but the damage is already done.”
Samuel Larreal is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and San José Spotlight.
