Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. US President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, the White House announced Friday, using unusual and contested power to cut funding for immigrant services and initiatives focused on diversity. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) described the funding cut as focused on “the most damaging government spending.” Most of the cuts focus on immigrant services, including nonprofits that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. The administration says the funds are no longer needed because illegal border crossings have decreased significantly. Also targeted for cuts were a Department of Education program for immigrant students; a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions; a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs; housing counseling services from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and a series of Department of Health and Human Services grants that the administration called “absolutely harmful and blatantly ideological.” A White House news release announcing the funding cuts notes that some of the organizations are run by people who worked in the administration of former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Trump’s move was condemned by Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican in a tough re-election campaign and chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Collins said in a statement that the action came without warning or consultation. He also said he would work to address “these illegal actions” with his colleagues. “…It’s a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers,” Collins said. “OMB is an executive branch agency. It can’t decide what programs are worth funding.” ‘Pocket rescission’ maneuver Under federal law, Congress has 45 days to review the president’s proposed spending cuts before they take effect. But Trump made that nearly impossible by announcing them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year and the House out of session until the November midterm elections. The Government Accountability Office, the independent, nonpartisan watchdog agency that works for Congress, says the move, known as “pocket rescission,” is illegal.WATCH | Trump media ban temporarily blocked: Judge blocks Trump White House media ban A federal judge temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump’s decision to ban three media outlets from the White House grounds, saying early on September 24 that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must regain their access. However, some correspondents from all three outlets report that their media credentials still do not work and that Secret Service agents have taken them. Collins called it the OMB’s latest attempt to “undermine Congress’s constitutional power over the purse.” A year ago, Trump issued a pocketbook rescission for the first time in nearly 50 years, blocking $4.9 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block those rescissions, saying Trump’s authority in foreign affairs heavily influenced its decision. This year, Trump is targeting domestic spending. The use of a pocket rescission fits a broader pattern by the Trump administration to demand greater control over the US government, eroding the power of Congress. Basically, the last pocket termination occurred in 1977, when then-President Jimmy Carter terminated it. The Trump administration argues that it is a legally permissible tool, despite some murkiness, since Carter had initially proposed the recall well before the 45-day deadline. The administration also laid off federal workers, imposed a historic increase in tariffs and started the war in Iran without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judiciary to determine the limits of presidential power. ‘Theft from the American people’: Senator Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Democratic leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, described the White House action as “a theft from the American people, plain and simple.” “These are funds that Congress has delivered on a bipartisan basis and should help people, not be isolated by a president more focused on building a ballroom than investing in families,” Murray said. Murray said that in recent spending negotiations, Democrats fought to include language that would prevent the administration from usurping Congress’s power over spending decisions, but Republicans have refused to “While Trump spends tax dollars on ads to promote himself, Congress needs to reassert its powers to help people, and it’s time for Republicans to join us in that fight,” he said. In addition to immigrant services, the White House said it was rescinding $70 million for what it called “woke” international education programs, $28 million in grants for Health and Human Services research programs, and $9 million in debt relief for foreign countries funding climate change policies. Another $10 million was being withheld from a minority business development program.
