The 2nd tranche of TARP was optional.

And Biden signed the leg from Congress. You know, the Founders' mechanism for the Executive branch to consent to the laws passed by the Legislative.

Sure....but Congress was the one that acted first to tell the President to spend these funds. Presidential spending is never done in a vacuum. While the President has the nominal power to veto a spending bill or CR, in practice those bills are "must pass" - with incredibly damaging consequences if a veto were issued.

Not sure why you're pushing back on this, because it's the fundamental reason why listing deficit spending by President - rather than say the party that controlled the House - doesn't tell you very much. Presidents offer recommended budgets, but it's really the taxing and spending decisions by Congress that affect whether and how much of a deficit we have. The President has less control over the deficit than Congress, and arguably less than either branch of Congress.

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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