President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel nearly $1 billion in federal funding is drawing opposition from Republican lawmakers who say the White House is overstepping Congress’s authority over spending.
The administration announced Friday that it would use a budget maneuver known as a “pocket rescission” to cancel funding for a range of programs. The cuts particularly affect Department of Health and Human Services grants supporting minority students, refugee resettlement and undocumented children.
The move came less than 45 days before the fiscal year ends. As a result, the funds will remain paused through year’s end regardless of how Congress responds.
The White House says the cuts target waste and fraud. It argues that some funding intended for refugee resettlement is no longer needed because fewer people are crossing the southern border illegally.
But several Republicans on congressional appropriations committees objected to the way the administration acted. Their concerns come as Congress faces an already difficult funding process, including disagreements over defense and domestic spending.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the decision “the most recent attempt” by the Office of Management and Budget to undermine Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
Collins accused OMB of withholding the funds for months to carry out an unlawful cancellation of spending approved by both parties and signed into law. “OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there is an argument that the move was unlawful, though he suggested the courts may ultimately settle the question. Lawmakers might agree with some of the cuts, he said, while still objecting to the process used to make them.
Collins told reporters Monday that she would work with colleagues to challenge the rescissions. She said their options include adding language to future appropriations bills or pursuing legal action.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, suggested Congress consider a lasting change to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act to clarify the limits of presidential authority over appropriated funds. She said additional safeguards in upcoming funding bills might be possible but would not resolve the broader dispute.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., called the move “wrong” and warned it could make future spending deals harder to reach. He pointed to a proposed substantial increase in defense funding amid the war with Iran, saying negotiations could suffer if OMB can later cancel parts of a deal.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., also criticized the administration, saying rescissions must be requested through Congress.
Other Republicans praised Trump’s action. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said taxpayers should not have to fund health and social services for people who broke U.S. laws. The House Freedom Caucus thanked Trump and OMB Director Russ Vought, saying the president was fulfilling his promise to cut waste.
The dispute adds pressure to a funding process already strained by partisan divisions, with Republicans split over both the cuts and the White House’s authority to impose them.
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