Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress Most of the cuts are focused on HHS programs that serve refugees, unaccompanied minors

https://www.statnews.com/2026/09/25/trump-administration-cancel-spending-hhs-programs/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_WEyGOgLTB7QhA_QlGylBlx_6doGXBNgj8hGaq6UKmThusr-fTMPK4iEfsSQ4pu4zRRJBEo-21bsBRzjv58FW0GrYgHw&_hsmi=441235571&utm_content=441235571&utm_source=hs_email By Associated PressSept. 25, 2026 Trump uses ‘contested’ power to cut more funding to HHS Late Friday night, the Trump administration clawed back nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress. It targeted several HHS programs focused on immigrants and diversity, including a study on barriers to primary care among people of color, a project on racism in emergency medicine, and money to improve access to transgender care for youth of color in rural areas. The administration cancelled the spending using something known as a “pocket rescission,” which the AP described as a “rare and contested power.” The Office of Management and Budget said the cuts focused on “the most harmful government spending.” But in a fiery statement, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), pushed back, calling the rescission another attempt by OMB to “undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse.”