The Trump administration has canceled nearly $1 billion in congressional spending by invoking a rarely used authority to eliminate funding for immigrant services, racial equity programs, and climate-related debt relief. The decision, revealed Friday, represents the first time a president has applied a “pocket rescission” to domestic funding since 1977.
Funding reductions target immigrant aid and equity initiatives
Most of the cuts—$900 million—affect programs under the Department of Health and Human Services, including support for refugees and unaccompanied minors. The administration justifies the reductions by citing a decline in illegal border crossings. Other eliminated programs include:
- A Department of Education program for migrant students
- A Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions
- Housing counseling services provided by HUD
- HHS grants, which the White House calls “outright harmful and blatantly ideological”
The White House also slashed $70 million from international education programs criticized as “woke,” $28 million in HHS research grants, and $9 million in climate policy debt relief for developing nations. A minority business development program lost $10 million in funding.
The White House described the funding cut as focused on “the most harmful government spending.” Some of the affected programs were overseen by officials who served in the Obama administration.
Legal and political pushback intensifies
Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, condemned the move as a violation of Congress’s constitutional spending authority. She described it as an “impoundment” that bypassed the 45-day review period required by law. The Government Accountability Office has previously ruled such rescissions illegal without congressional approval.
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Collins noted the timing, just five days before the fiscal year ended while the House was out of session through the November election. “OMB is an agency of the executive branch,” she said. “It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.”
The strategy echoes a 2018 rescission in which Trump blocked $4.9 billion in foreign aid. The Supreme Court later upheld that decision, citing the president’s authority over foreign affairs. This year’s action extends the practice to domestic programs, raising concerns about executive overreach.
Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, described the White House action as “theft from the American people, plain and simple.” “These are funds Congress has delivered on a bipartisan basis and should be helping people, not cut off by a president more focused on building a ballroom than investing in families,” she said.
Broader trend of executive financial control
This is not the first instance of the Trump administration using aggressive financial tactics to bypass Congress. The White House has also fired federal workers, imposed a historic increase in tariffs, and started the war in Iran without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judicial branch to determine the limits of presidential power.
