Trump cancels nearly $1B in Congress-approved federal funding

WASHINGTON, DC: The White House on Friday, September 25, announced that President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in federal spending approved by Congress, using a rarely employed budget maneuver known as a “pocket rescission.”

The cuts target funding for immigrant and refugee services, education programs, housing initiatives and other programs that Congress had previously approved. The move has drawn criticism from lawmakers on both sides, who have said that the administration is improperly withholding money that Congress authorized.

White House targets immigrant services and other programs

The White House Office of Management and Budget said the rescissions are aimed at what it described as “the most harmful government spending.” The administration said it was canceling $567 million in funding for services for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants through the Department of Health and Human Services.

The White House is also rescinding $50 million for programs assisting immigrants and noncitizens, $70 million in grants and fellowships described by the administration as “Woke International Education,” and $56 million in Department of Housing and Urban Development programs. The administration said the funding was no longer necessary in part because illegal border crossings have declined significantly

 A White House release also noted that some organizations receiving the funding are led by individuals who previously worked in the administration of former Democratic President Barack Obama.

“President Trump is committed to utilizing all possible tools to cut wasteful and harmful government spending that does not benefit American citizens,” the White House said.

The administration notified congressional leaders of the rescissions with only days remaining before the federal fiscal year ends on September 30. Under the Impoundment Control Act, a president can propose rescissions to Congress, which then has 45 legislative days to consider whether to approve them. 

The administration’s use of a pocket rescission relies on making the request so late in the fiscal year that the funds can remain withheld until the appropriations expire. The Government Accountability Office has previously described the maneuver as illegal.

Lawmakers challenge Trump’s authority to cancel funds

Republican Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that the lawmakers were informed of approximately $810 million in pocket rescissions “without warning or consultation.”

She argued that the Office of Management and Budget had withheld the money for months before seeking to cancel it and said Congress’s authority over federal spending was being bypassed.

“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,” Collins said. “OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.”

Democratic Senator Patty Murray, the vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also criticized the move, arguing that Congress had approved the funding on a bipartisan basis.

“This is theft from the American people, plain and simple,” Murray said. “These are funds Congress has delivered on a bipartisan basis and should be helping people, not cut off by a president more focused on building a ballroom than investing in families.”