The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a landmark 2-1 ruling in Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump, No. 25-5097, authored by Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson and joined by Judge Katsas, with Judge Pan dissenting. The court vacated the district court’s preliminary injunction on impoundment claims, holding that private plaintiffs have no cause of action to enforce the Impoundment Control Act — whether through the APA, constitutional separation-of-powers claims, or ultra vires arguments. The ruling identified the Comptroller General of the GAO as the only entity expressly empowered by the ICA (2 U.S.C. § 687) to sue the executive to compel release of impounded funds, dramatically narrowing the judicial enforcement avenues available to impoundment challengers.
D.C. Circuit Rules Private Plaintiffs Cannot Enforce ICA