White House Claws Back Nearly $1 Billion Approved by Congress

The Trump administration is canceling close to $1 billion in spending that Congress had already approved, using a rarely invoked maneuver known as a pocket rescission that leaves lawmakers little room to respond.

Under federal law, when the president asks Congress to cancel funding, lawmakers have 45 days to consider the request. By sending the proposal just days before the fiscal year ends, with the House out of session until after the November election, the administration effectively ensures the money expires before Congress can act.

Where the cuts land

The largest share targets Health and Human Services programs that serve refugees and unaccompanied migrant children. Other cuts include an Education Department program for migrant students, a Justice Department office that helps communities ease racial tensions, a $10 million minority business initiative, housing counseling services, about $70 million for international education programs, $28 million in HHS research and $9 million in foreign debt relief tied to climate projects.

Bipartisan objections

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the move illegal and a usurpation of Congress's power of the purse, adding that lawmakers received no warning or consultation. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee's top Democrat, called it theft from the American people.

The Government Accountability Office has previously concluded that pocket rescissions are illegal. The administration used the same tactic a year ago to block $4.9 billion in foreign aid, and the Supreme Court declined to stop it. Before that, the last pocket rescission dated back to President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Sources: PBS News / AP, ABC News