Trump Administration Cancels $95 Million in Education

The Trump administration announced plans to cancel $810 million in federal funding for health, education, and housing programs on Friday night. The cancellation occurred just days before the end of the current fiscal year, targeting $25 million for migrant student programs and $70 million for international education.

The White House sent Congress the rescission package totaling $810 million on Friday. According to the White House’s briefing, the $70 million for international education funded grants and fellowships to support institutions bringing foreign students and faculty to the U.S. The $25 million is rescinded for an Education Department program designed to help migrant students. Other cuts include $567 million for refugee resettlement programs, $28 million for health research, and $56 million for housing counseling.

Legal and procedural controversy

The White House used a pocket rescission by waiting until days before the fiscal year ended, leaving Congress insufficient time to act. Under federal law, the administration can withhold funds for 45 days while Congress considers the request. With just a few days left, the money will be canceled before Congress can weigh in.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has said the pocket rescission is illegal, as it allows the president to avoid spending money Congress appropriated. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, denounced the move as illegal. She stated the White House budget office intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.

Sen. Susan Collins said: "Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law." Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House Appropriations Committee’s ranking Democrat, echoed the view that freezing the money is illegal. Russell Vought, the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, has warned throughout his tenure that he and his colleagues would have no qualms about using pocket rescissions.

Impact on education programs

The rescission cuts $70 million for international education and language programs and $25 million for migrant students, despite Congress having appropriated over $50 million for the latter. In its budget for fiscal year 2026, Congress appropriated $80.6 million for the department’s International Education and Foreign Language programs. These include the Fulbright-Hays program and grants to support centers on campus devoted to foreign languages and area studies.

The White House argues the migrant student program subsidizes aliens to come to the U.S. And use our education system at the expense of American workers and their children. The administration said these programs have deviated from their core mission and instead support wasteful and divisive projects, including doctoral dissertations on queer and trans community building in foreign countries. It is unclear which grants are specifically affected by this latest rescission.

Broader context and reactions

The administration frames the cuts as eliminating wasteful and ideological spending, while lawmakers warn it sets a dangerous precedent for unilateral executive power over the purse. The Trump administration described the rescission as historic action to eliminate wasteful and harmful spending. The administration said the $567 million for refugee resettlement is no longer needed because fewer migrants are crossing the U.S. Southern border illegally.

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called the rescissions an illegal power grab. Sen. Dick Durbin said: "The real question is whether my Republican colleagues will finally find their collective backbone and do something about it." The Trump administration used the same maneuver last year to cancel about $4 billion in foreign aid without congressional approval. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the administration had the right to cancel the money in the prior foreign aid rescission.

The coming cancellation threatens to escalate tensions over spending after the midterm elections. The House is out of town and not scheduled to return until after the November midterm elections. Congress faces a Dec. 11 deadline to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2027.