Trump cancels nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved spending via “pocket rescission”

The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved spending, using a rare and legally contested authority — just five days before the end of the federal fiscal year.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) described the cut as focused on “the most harmful government spending.” Most of the cuts hit services for immigrants — nonprofits serving refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally — as well as diversity initiatives. The administration says the funds are no longer needed because illegal border crossings have dropped sharply.

A White House statement notes that some of the organizations are run by people who worked in the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.

The move was condemned even by Republicans: Senator Susan Collins (Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and in a difficult reelection campaign, said the action came without warning or consultation and that she would work with colleagues on “these illegal actions.” “OMB is an executive branch agency. It does not decide which programs deserve funding,” Collins said, calling it a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers.

Normally Congress reviews the president’s spending-cut proposals before they take effect — but Trump announced them with only five days left in the fiscal year, making review practically impossible. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the maneuver known as “pocket rescission” is illegal.

Context: a year ago Trump issued the first “pocket rescission” in 50 years, blocking $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid; the Supreme Court declined to block it, saying Trump’s authority over foreign affairs outweighed. This time domestic spending is targeted.

This is part of a broader administration pattern of taking greater control over the federal government, eroding Congress’s power: it has fired federal employees, imposed historic tariff increases and started the war with Iran without Congress — leaving the judiciary to determine the limits of presidential power, as the Associated Press reports.