The Trump administration announced on Friday that it is cancelling $810 million in congressionally approved spending for programmes serving immigrants, diversity initiatives and related causes. The administration employed a "pocket rescission"—a budget maneuver that the executive branch contends is lawful but Congress and the Government Accountability Office argue exceeds presidential authority. This move is significant because it represents a rare exercise of executive power to overturn congressional spending decisions, raising constitutional questions about separation of powers.

The vast majority of the cuts, approximately $567 million, targeted Health and Human Services programmes funding non-governmental organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Additional reductions include $25 million from migrant student education programmes and $70 million from international education initiatives the administration labelled "woke." The administration also cut Justice Department programmes addressing racial tensions, minority business development initiatives, and various other programmes it characterised as ideological. Republican Senator Susan Collins opposed the move, arguing the timing—with cuts scheduled to take effect on 30 September before Congress's mandatory 45-day review period expires—was deliberately designed to prevent congressional intervention, particularly since the House will be in recess through the November election.