WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday ordered the cancellation of $810 million in funding approved by Congress, including substantial sums designated for illegal immigrants and race-focused initiatives. The move marks only the second “pocket” rescission in 49 years, The Post has learned.
The decision wipes out 11 pools of unspent funds across seven federal departments and agencies, advancing efforts by fiscal conservatives to reduce spending across the executive branch.
“In accordance with… the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, I herewith report 11 rescissions of budget authority, totaling $810 million,” Trump wrote in a notice sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“The proposed rescissions affect programs of the Departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, as well as for International Assistance Programs.”
A pocket rescission involves the proposed cancellation of spending authorized by Congress so late in the federal fiscal year that the money is effectively rescinded before lawmakers can block the action. The practice is legally disputed because Congress normally has 45 days to review such a proposal.
With only five days remaining before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, the White House Office of Management and Budget identified funding it said was either no longer needed or inconsistent with Trump’s policies.
The largest cancellation involves $567 million appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for social services for illegal immigrants, including grants distributed through nongovernmental organizations. The administration deemed the funding unnecessary because illegal border crossings have nearly disappeared over the past year.
Several organizations that received money through the program had already faced scrutiny over their political ties to Democrats and allegations that they tolerated child abuse.
The second-largest reduction, totaling $70 million, targets fellowships and grants for foreign academics and students in the United States. Conservative critics objected to some of the funding after learning that it supported projects focused on transgender issues.
Another $56 million will be removed from a Housing and Urban Development program that supports outside groups providing housing counseling. Critics alleged that the initiative instead promoted “DEI-centric” agendas among Democrat-linked racial advocacy organizations, including UnidosUS and the National Urban League.
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The administration is also withdrawing $28 million in HHS grants it described as “wasteful, duplicative, and sometimes outright harmful and blatantly ideological.” The specific grants affected were not immediately clear.
The Department of Education will lose an additional $25 million from subsidies supporting a migrant-student initiative. The money funded organizations that allegedly urged participants to avoid law enforcement.
The rescissions also eliminate $15 million each from two programs: the Justice Department’s Community Relations Services, an almost-shuttered office focused on race relations, and a Department of Homeland Security initiative that helped pay for cultural orientation, health care and legal advice for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
Smaller cuts include $10 million from the Minority Business Development Agency, which awards grants to business owners based on race; $10 million from another DHS program financing legal services for illegal immigrants; and $5 million from the HHS Office of Minority Health.
Trump also canceled $9 million from the Treasury Department’s Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act Program. The initiative provided debt relief to countries in exchange for actions intended to combat climate change.
Trump has exercised rescission authority twice before. Last year, he asked congressional Republicans to eliminate federal funding for NPR and PBS and to dismantle USAID programs. Congress approved those requests.
The use of pocket rescissions remains highly controversial, and the latest move could trigger new legal challenges. The Government Accountability Office has ruled that the practice is illegal, a position rejected by the administration.
Last year, Trump canceled nearly $5 billion in foreign aid through the first pocket rescission since 1977. The action angered congressional Democrats and led to a court fight.
The president prevailed in a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling last September, which allowed him to proceed on the grounds that his authority to conduct foreign affairs outweighed the alleged procedural violation.
OMB Director Russ Vought and General Counsel Mark Paoletta have cited actions by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter that they argue may have amounted to pocket rescissions in the 1970s. The latest move could therefore test—and potentially broaden—the future use of the disputed practice.
