Landor v. Louisiana Dept of Corrections and Public Safety · ¶47

Nor, with Sabri out of the picture, can Mr. Landor and the dissent explain how their proposed cause of action would help “carr[y] into execution” Congress's enumerated power to spend money. McCulloch, 4 Wheat., at 434. In truth, they don't even try. Instead, they suggest, the Necessary and Proper Clause ought to be elastic enough to allow the “extraction of money damages” from virtually anyone who violates virtually any condition found in Spending Clause legislation. Post, at 95–99, 102–103. But while the Necessary and Proper Clause may allow Congress to enact provisions actually incidental to its spending power, like those protecting federal money against graft, it does not tolerate outcomes that would “undermine the structure of [the federal] government established by the Constitution.” Sebe lius, 567 U. S., at 559 (opinion of Roberts, C. J.). Nor does the Clause tolerate results that…

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