Congress Fumes as Trump Plots Late $810 Million Cuts in Education, Health

President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to cancel $810 million in federal spending already approved by Congress, using a rare budget maneuver just days before the federal fiscal year ends.

The proposal was submitted Friday, September 25, through what the administration calls a “pocket rescission,” leaving lawmakers little time to respond before September 30.

The package covers 11 proposed rescissions across several federal departments, including Health and Human Services, Education, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice and Commerce.

The largest proposed reduction is approximately $567 million from HHS programs supporting refugees, asylum seekers and other noncitizens, according to the administration’s notification to Congress.

Education programs would also be affected. The administration is seeking to rescind approximately $25 million from Special Programs for Migrant Students, while another $70 million targets international education programs.

The White House argues that the targeted programs represent spending that no longer serves its priorities, particularly after the administration’s immigration policies reduced migrant crossings.

Officials have described the broader package as an effort to eliminate spending they consider wasteful, harmful or inconsistent with the administration’s objectives.

But lawmakers from both parties have challenged the move, arguing that Congress—not the executive branch—controls federal appropriations and therefore has authority over money already approved through legislation.

Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, criticized the administration’s action and said she would work with colleagues to address what she described as unlawful cancellations.

Democratic appropriators have similarly objected, arguing that the administration is attempting to bypass Congress by acting at the very end of the fiscal year.

Senator Tammy Baldwin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee covering Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, also criticized the proposed rescissions.

The dispute centers on the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which establishes procedures governing presidential requests to cancel spending that Congress has already appropriated.

Normally, Congress has a period to consider a rescission request. The administration’s timing, however, has raised questions because the fiscal year ends September 30.

A “pocket rescission” is an informal term for an attempt to allow appropriated funds to expire before Congress can effectively prevent their cancellation.

The Government Accountability Office has previously argued that such a maneuver can conflict with federal law because Congress retains constitutional authority over government spending.

The administration disputes that interpretation and maintains that the Impoundment Control Act provides presidential authority to pursue the rescissions.

The latest move follows a similar action last year, when the Trump administration sought to claw back approximately $4.9 billion in foreign-aid funding approved by Congress.

The Supreme Court allowed that earlier effort to proceed while litigation continued, but its action did not definitively settle the broader legal question surrounding pocket rescissions.

This year’s proposal is different in scope because much of the targeted funding concerns domestic programs involving health services, education, housing and assistance for migrants and refugees.

With the House out of session and lawmakers preparing for the November midterm elections, Congress faces practical limitations in responding before the September 30 deadline.

The $810 million proposal therefore sets up another confrontation over presidential spending authority, congressional appropriations and the limits of executive power as the fiscal year draws to a close.