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Spending Clause Limits

The Supreme Court's precedents on the Spending Clause and its limits, including conditions on federal grants and the principles drawn from cases such as Pennhurst, South Dakota v. Dole, NFIB v. Sebelius, and Printz.

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Jan 15, 2026
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What Supreme Court precedents govern when the federal government can condition grants to states and localities?

The Supreme Court has fashioned a compact set of precedents that let Congress use the Spending Clause to attach conditions to federal grants, but only within express limits: conditions must be unambig...