Trump claws back $810 million from congressionally approved programs

Bipartisan appropriators call the cuts illegal

President Trump on Friday night announced he is clawing back $810 million in funding already approved by Congress, drawing bipartisan criticism from Senate appropriators who said the maneuver is unlawful. The cuts, known as pocket rescissions, primarily target programs that provide health and education services and support for immigrants, refugees and minority-owned businesses.

The largest single cut is $567 million in Health and Human Services funding for programs serving noncitizens. The remaining rescissions, also focused on services for immigrants and refugees and on minority-owned businesses, round out the $810 million total.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the moves “illegal actions” on Friday and characterized them as the latest attempt by the administration “to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse.” In a post on X, Collins went further, accusing the White House Office of Management and Budget of having “intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.”

Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democratic appropriator, called the action “theft from the American people, plain and simple.”

The White House defended the move. “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 action tests the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under that law, the White House may pause spending for 45 days while asking Congress to pass a measure rescinding the money. If Congress does not act within 45 days, the funds must be released. By transmitting the rescission request shortly before the fiscal year ends on September 30, the White House is attempting to force the cuts through.

Trump used a similar maneuver last year, rescinding more than $4 billion in foreign aid. The move was upheld by the Supreme Court, with the majority saying the president’s authority over foreign affairs played a role in its decision. At the time, the White House said it was the first pocket rescission used in nearly 50 years.

Russ Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, has argued that Congress does not have full control of the purse when it comes to federal spending and has said publicly that he believes the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional.

The rescission renews a constitutional clash over the separation of spending powers, with the appropriators who write the annual funding bills objecting to a president they say is unilaterally cancelling appropriations that already cleared Congress and were signed into law.