Rebutting shutdown critics, President Trump's budget office sent Congress a memo Friday arguing that history shows he has the right to move money around to pay the troops.
- The memo cites presidents from George Washington in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion to John F. Kennedy in creating the Peace Corps in 1961.
Why it matters: By paying the military while other federal workers go without, Trump is eliminating a major pressure point on him to negotiate.
