President Donald Trump has canceled nearly $1 billion in spending that Congress already approved, using a budget maneuver that the government’s own watchdog says is illegal. The White House announced the cuts Friday, just five days before the federal fiscal year ends.
Most of the money came from Health and Human Services programs serving refugees and unaccompanied minors. The White House said the funds were no longer needed because border crossings have dropped. The cuts also reach into education: the Department of Education’s Special Programs for Migrant Students was among the targets, and the White House said it was rescinding $70 million for what it called “woke” international education programs. The reports do not say how much the migrant student program lost or which agency runs the international programs.
Other cuts hit a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions, a minority business development initiative, HUD housing counseling and HHS research grants, including gender-affirming care research. The Office of Management and Budget described the package as targeting “the most harmful government spending.” The White House also noted that some of the affected organizations are led by people who worked in the Obama administration.
The mechanism is at the center of the dispute. Under the Impoundment Control Act, a president can ask Congress to cancel funding and withhold it for 45 days while lawmakers decide. If Congress declines, the money must be released. A pocket rescission sends that request so late in the fiscal year that the funds expire before the 45 days are up, whatever Congress does. Trump made the request with the House out of session until after the November election.
The Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, has concluded that the tactic is illegal. It says the law gives presidents no authority to shorten the period during which fixed-term funds can be spent. The administration argues the practice is legally permissible. According to The Associated Press, the last comparable episode came in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter, who had proposed his cuts well before the 45-day window.
Criticism came from both parties. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the Appropriations Committee, called the move unlawful and said, “OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s top Democrat, called it “theft from the American people, plain and simple.” Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said, “The law is not a suggestion, and the President is not a king.”
Politico reported that Republican leaders have rebuffed Democratic efforts to bar pocket rescissions in the final quarter of the fiscal year, setting up a likely funding fight after the midterms.
Trump used the tactic last year to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid. The Supreme Court allowed that cancellation to stand, and the AP reported that the justices leaned heavily on the president’s authority over foreign affairs. This year’s cuts target domestic programs, and the court has not ruled on whether Trump illegally impounded funds during his second term.
