President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, the White House announced on Friday. The move uses a rare and contested power to cut funding for immigrant services and diversity-focused programs.
Trump’s Office of Management and Budget called the cuts focused on “the most harmful government spending.” Most of the money comes from Health and Human Services programs serving refugees and unaccompanied minors. The administration says the funds are no longer needed because illegal border crossings have fallen sharply.
Also targeted: a Department of Education program for migrant students, a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions, a business program for minority entrepreneurs, and housing counseling services.
Congress normally reviews proposed cuts before they take effect. But Trump announced them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year, making review nearly impossible. The Government Accountability Office says the maneuver, known as a “pocket rescission,” is illegal.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, condemned the action. She called it “a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers” and said she would work to address “these illegal actions.”