Trump cancels nearly $1 billion in spending Congress already approved

President Donald Trump's administration announced on 25 September 2026 it is cancelling nearly $1 billion in spending Congress already approved, using a rare budget tool called a pocket rescission. The Office of Management and Budget said the cut focuses on what it called "the most harmful government spending." Most of the money, about $567 million, goes to Health and Human Services programs serving refugees, asylees and other non-citizens, according to the announcement.el-balad.com+1

The move matters because it tests whether a president can cancel money Congress has already appropriated, rather than merely proposing changes to future spending. Congress has 45 days to review proposed cuts before they take effect, but the announcement came with only five days left in the federal fiscal year, which ends 30 September. The House of Representatives is out of session through the November election, leaving lawmakers little practical time to respond within that window.statnews.com

Why the timing matters

The timing is the mechanism at the heart of the dispute. Under federal law, Congress has 45 days to review the president's proposed spending cuts before they take effect. Because the announcement came near the end of the federal fiscal year, the money would expire on 30 September before the review period could finish. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the timing was deliberate.

Collins condemned the action as coming without warning or consultation. "Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress's appropriations powers," she said in a statement. She added that the Office of Management and Budget "does not get to decide which programs are worth funding" and called it the latest attempt to "undermine Congress's Constitutional power of the purse."

The largest share of the cuts, about $567 million, targets Health and Human Services programs that fund non-governmental organisations supporting refugees, asylees and other non-citizens. The administration argues the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably. Also cut is $25 million for education programs serving migrant students, which the White House said supported items including "an LGBT youth summit" and "Therapy for Latinx workshops."

Where the money was targeted

Further programme-level figures include $70 million for what the administration called "woke" international education programs, $28 million in grant funding for Health and Human Services research, $10 million withheld from a minority business development program, and $9 million in debt relief for foreign countries that fund climate change policies. Other targets include a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions and housing counseling services from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The White House press release noted that some of the affected organisations are led by people who worked in the administration of former President Barack Obama. The administration has not specified which individual organisations will lose how much money, so the practical effect depends on how the rescission is implemented inside the federal budget process. The Office of Management and Budget described the cut as focused on "the most harmful government spending."

The legal question turns on whether the Impoundment Control Act permits a president to rescind funds so late in the fiscal year. The Office of Management and Budget, under Director Russ Vought, has argued the law does not explicitly forbid the president from rescinding funds near the end of a fiscal year, according to a summary from the Congressional Research Service. The Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, has concluded pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the act.

The legal dispute over authority

The Congressional Research Service summary also noted that the Government Accountability Office has likened pocket rescissions to a line-item veto, which would let a president strike portions of legislation without congressional approval — a power the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington and lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the action "theft from the American people, plain and simple." She said the funds were delivered on a bipartisan basis and should be helping people.

This is not the first time Trump has used the tool. A year ago, he issued the first pocket rescission in nearly 50 years, seeking to cancel $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid. The Supreme Court declined to block that move, citing the president's authority over foreign affairs as it allowed litigation to continue. The last comparable action took place under President Jimmy Carter in 1977, well before the 45-day review deadline.foxnews.com

The dispute now sits with Congress and the courts. Collins said she would work with colleagues to address what she called illegal actions, and Murray said Congress needs to reassert its spending powers. The House remains out of session through the November election, and the federal fiscal year ends 30 September, the date by which the unspent money would expire before the 45-day review period concludes.