The Trump administration canceled $810 million in congressionally approved spending Friday, targeting programs that serve illegal immigrants, diversity initiatives, and what officials described as efforts that don't benefit American citizens.
President Donald Trump deployed a "pocket rescission" to reclaim the funds — a budget tool the executive branch says falls within presidential authority but that Congress and the Government Accountability Office argue violates the law. The cuts represent the administration's most aggressive use of executive spending power since Trump issued the first pocket rescission in nearly 50 years a year ago, when he sought to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
Health and Human Services Bears Brunt
Health and Human Services programs absorbed the largest share of cuts, losing $567 million in funding previously directed to non-government organizations supporting refugees, asylees and other non-citizens. The administration also moved to rescind $25 million for education programs serving migrant students, which the White House said supported activities including "an LGBT youth summit" and "Therapy for Latinx workshops."
Another $70 million in cuts targeted what the administration labeled "Woke International Education" programs. According to the White House, this funding brought foreign students and faculty to the United States and, in some instances, financed doctoral dissertations on "queer and trans community building in foreign countries."
Additional programs slated for elimination included a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions, a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs, Housing and Urban Development Department counseling services, and several Health and Human Services grants the administration characterized as "outright harmful and blatantly ideological." The White House noted that several organizations receiving these funds are led by former officials from President Barack Obama's administration.
Congressional Pushback
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who faces a tough re-election campaign, condemned the cuts as "the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress's Constitutional power of the purse."
The timing matters. The White House proposed canceling the funding just before the federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Collins argued this was deliberate — if money remains unspent until that date, it expires before Congress's 45-day review period can finish. The House of Representatives will be out of session through the November election, making it essentially impossible for Congress to respond.
"The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act," Collins said in a statement. "I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions."
Legal Questions Persist
The OMB under Trump has maintained that the Impoundment Control Act doesn't explicitly forbid the president from rescinding funds near a fiscal year's end, according to a Congressional Research Service summary. OMB Director Russ Vought has repeatedly defended this position.
That same CRS summary noted the GAO has compared pocket rescissions to a line-item veto, which would let a president strike portions of legislation without congressional approval — a power the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. The Supreme Court declined to block Trump's foreign aid rescission last year, citing presidential authority over foreign affairs as litigation continued. The last pocket rescission occurred under former President Jimmy Carter, who proposed it well before the 45-day congressional review deadline.
Why This Matters:
This $810 million in cuts tests the constitutional boundary between executive authority and congressional spending power. The administration's focus on programs serving non-citizens and diversity initiatives reflects a fundamental disagreement about government's proper role — whether taxpayer dollars should fund services for illegal immigrants and ideological programs, or whether those resources belong elsewhere. The timing strategy effectively sidesteps congressional oversight, raising questions about institutional checks and balances that extend beyond this specific dispute. If the rescission stands, it establishes precedent for future presidents to unilaterally redirect or cancel spending Congress approved. The legal uncertainty surrounding pocket rescissions — with the executive branch, GAO, and potentially courts offering conflicting interpretations — leaves taxpayers and program recipients unclear about which branch truly controls federal purse strings.