The Office of Management and Budget framed the cuts as targeting "the most harmful government spending." Most of the money had been set aside for services tied to immigrants, including non-profits that work with refugees and with unaccompanied minors accused of entering the country illegally.
The administration argues the funding is no longer needed because illegal border crossings have dropped significantly. Diversity-focused initiatives are also among the programs losing money under the move.
For the non-profits that rely on this funding, the cut means services for refugees and migrant children could shrink or disappear, even though Congress had already signed off on paying for them. That's the core of what makes this fight unusual. Lawmakers approved this spending through the normal budget process, and the president is now overriding that decision on his own, without going back to Congress for a new vote.
The White House is betting that fewer border crossings justify pulling the money now. Critics see it differently: a president deciding, after the fact, that Congress's own spending decisions don't count.
Nearly a billion dollars, already approved, now gone with a single announcement.