Trump’s early, extraordinary steps pose a direct challenge to a fundamental underpinning of the Constitution: the power of the purse.

The White House rescinded an order today that froze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans in an effort to purge the government of what President Trump has called a “woke” ideology. The directive had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

The White House is considering challenging the constitutionality of a 50-year-old law limiting the president’s control over federal spending, easing the firing of civil servants, curbing pay and reining in independent agencies,