Trump cancels $810 million in federal funding using pocket rescission

President Donald Trump has bypassed Congress to cancel $810 million in federal funding using a controversial "pocket rescission" maneuver on September 25, 2026, just five days before the fiscal year ends. The cuts primarily target $567 million in migrant and refugee services, alongside various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Bipartisan lawmakers, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, have condemned the action as an illegal usurpation of Congress's power of the purse, while the Government Accountability Office maintains the tactic violates the Impoundment Control Act.

The pocket rescission announcement and mechanism

• ▪The White House utilized a "pocket rescission" maneuver, submitting a $810 million spending cancellation notice to Congress on September 25, 2026, just five days before the federal fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026
• ▪President Donald Trump notified Congress on September 25, 2026, of his intent to cancel $810 million in congressionally appropriated funding across 11 pools of unspent money at seven federal departments and agencies
• ▪Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a president can propose spending rescissions which Congress has 45 days to consider, but submitting proposals late in the fiscal year effectively withholds the funds until they expire

Cuts to refugee and noncitizen services

• ▪The largest single cut in Trump's $810 million pocket rescission on September 25, 2026, is a $567 million reduction in Department of Health and Human Services funding allocated for social services, housing, and support for refugees, asylees, and other noncitizens
• ▪The Trump administration justified the $567 million cut to noncitizen services in its September 25, 2026, pocket rescission by asserting that successful border policies have significantly reduced illegal border crossings, rendering the allocated funding unnecessary

Cuts to migrant and immigrant programs

• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $25 million of the Department of Education's $52 million Special Programs for Migrant Students initiative, which the White House alleged funded organizations that encouraged participants to avoid law enforcement
• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $15 million from a Department of Homeland Security program that subsidized cultural orientation, healthcare, and legal advice for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers

Cuts to diversity and identity-conscious programs

• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $56 million from a Department of Housing and Urban Development program for outside organizations providing housing counseling, which the White House alleged fueled diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas
• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $10 million from the Minority Business Development Agency, which provides grants to business owners based on their race
• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $70 million allocated for fellowships and grants for foreign academics and students in the United States, which the White House characterized as "Woke International Education" grants
• ▪Trump's September 25, 2026, pocket rescission cancels $15 million from the Department of Justice's Community Relations Services, which the White House stated promoted identity-conscious law enforcement practices

Criticism of the pocket rescission's legality

• ▪The independent Government Accountability Office has characterized the practice of pocket rescissions as illegal and a violation of the Impoundment Control Act
• ▪Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, strongly criticized Trump's $810 million pocket rescission on September 25, 2026, calling it an unlawful usurpation of Congress's constitutional power of the purse
• ▪House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, issued a statement on September 25, 2026, stating that the Trump administration's $810 million pocket rescission was executed illegally
• ▪Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, condemned Trump's $810 million spending cuts on September 25, 2026, characterizing the executive action as "theft from the American people."

The 2025 pocket rescission precedent

• ▪In September 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the Trump administration's previous $4.9 billion pocket rescission of foreign aid funding, pointing to the president's authority over foreign affairs in a 6-3 ruling
• ▪Trump's $810 million pocket rescission action on September 25, 2026, marks the second pocket rescission used by the Trump administration, following a 2025 pocket rescission that canceled $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid

Debatable claims

• ▪Reduced border crossings justify cutting federal funding for refugee and noncitizen services
• ▪The federal government should eliminate funding for race-conscious and DEI programs
• ▪Federal grants for foreign academics do more harm than good
• ▪Trump's pocket rescissions are an unconstitutional usurpation of congressional authority