The ruling arrives as the White House uses the same mechanism to unilaterally cancel $810 million in congressional appropriations, including $567 million for refugee services at the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The cuts, executing before the Sept. 30 fiscal year end, bypass a statutory 45 day window for congressional voting. Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and retiring Rep. Don Bacon have termed the maneuver unconstitutional, while the Government Accountability Office considers such rescissions illegal.
Supporters of the move cite a 2025 Supreme Court decision that refused to block similar cuts to USAID funding as evidence of the policy's legality. The Office of Management and Budget has defended the actions as a necessary tool to eliminate wasteful spending across seven federal departments and agencies.