Trump Administration Rescinds $810 Million in Federal Funds

The Trump administration announced it has canceled $810 million in congressionally approved spending. The funds were designated for programs supporting illegal immigrants, diversity initiatives, and other efforts the administration deemed not beneficial to American citizens.

President Donald Trump employed a "pocket rescission," a budget tool that the executive branch asserts is within its authority. However, Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have previously stated that this maneuver exceeds the president's power. The Congressional Research Service has noted that the GAO has likened pocket rescissions to a line-item veto, which the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.

The largest portion of the rescinded funds, $567 million, was allocated to Health and Human Services programs that provided support to non-government organizations assisting refugees, asylees, and other non-citizens. Additionally, $25 million was rescinded from education programs for migrant students, which the White House stated supported initiatives like an "LGBT youth summit" and "Therapy for Latinx workshops."

Programs labeled "Woke International Education" saw $70 million in cuts. According to the White House, these funds supported bringing foreign students and faculty to the U.S. and, in some instances, funded doctoral dissertations on "queer and trans community building in foreign countries."

Other programs affected include a Justice Department office aimed at reducing racial tensions, a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs, Housing and Urban Development Department counseling services, and various Health and Human Services grants described by the administration as "outright harmful and blatantly ideological."

The White House statement highlighted that several of the organizations receiving funding had leaders who were former officials in the Obama administration.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, criticized the cuts, calling it "the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse." She argued that the timing of the rescission, proposed near the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, was intentional. This timing, she explained, aimed to expire the funds before Congress's mandatory 45-day review period could be completed. With the House of Representatives out of session until after the November election, a response from Congress was rendered virtually impossible.

"The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act," Collins stated. "I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions."

Russell Vought, director of OMB under Trump, has maintained that the Impoundment Control Act does not prohibit the president from rescinding funds close to the end of a fiscal year. The administration's use of pocket rescissions has been a point of contention, with previous instances drawing scrutiny. A year prior, Trump initiated the first pocket rescission in nearly 50 years, targeting $4.9 billion in foreign aid. The Supreme Court allowed litigation over that move to proceed, citing the president's foreign affairs authority.

The last pocket rescission predates the Trump administration, having been used by former President Jimmy Carter, who proposed it significantly earlier than the 45-day congressional review deadline.