Trump Cancels Nearly $1 Billion in Approved Federal Funding

President Donald Trump unilaterally canceled between $810 million and nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved funding on September 25, 2026. Utilizing a budget maneuver known as a pocket rescission, the administration targeted programs for refugees, asylum seekers, migrant students, and minority-owned businesses. The largest cut involves $567 million from the Department of Health and Human Services for services provided to non-citizens.

The United States Office of Management and Budget executed the cuts, characterizing the spending as wasteful or harmful. By announcing the rescissions with only five days remaining in the fiscal year, the administration effectively bypassed the 45-day congressional review period required by the Impoundment Control Act, ensuring the funds expire on September 30 before Congress can block the action.

Lawmakers from both parties condemned the move. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins labeled the action an illegal usurpation of the power of the purse, while Senator Patty Murray described the rescissions as theft from the American people. The United States Government Accountability Office has previously concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful. The administration defended the maneuver as a permissible tool to cut spending that does not benefit American citizens, citing a similar action by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and a previous $4.9 billion foreign aid clawback that the Supreme Court declined to block.