Biden's border wall funding freeze was legal, congressional investigators rule

Congressional investigators ruled Tuesday that President Biden's decision to freeze more than $1 billion in border wall funds didn't violate budgetary law, though Republican lawmakers strenuously objected.

The president's "programmatic delay" of funds is permitted under the 1974 law establishing the modern budget process, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office.  "We conclude that delays in the obligation and expenditure of DHS's appropriations are programmatic delays, not impoundments," the report read. "[The Department of Homeland Security] and the Office of Management and Budget have shown that the use of funds is delayed in order to perform environmental reviews and consult with various stakeholders, as required by law, and determine project funding needs in light of changes that warrant using funds differently than initially planned."