Trump cuts nearly $1 billion from programs aimed at 'woke' policies

President Donald Trump announced a new measure to cut nearly $1 billion in federal funding, as part of his strategy to reduce what his administration considers unnecessary or harmful government spending.

According to the White House, Trump will once again use the presidential powers provided for in the Impoundment Control Act to implement a so-called "pocket veto." The administration states that the president already used this mechanism last year for the first time in 50 years and is now resorting to it again.

The White House presented the cuts as a measure aimed at protecting U.S. taxpayers' resources.

More than $560 million earmarked for services for non-citizens

The largest cut cited by the White House amounts to $567 million in funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which, according to the administration, funded programs and nongovernmental organizations that provided services to refugees, asylum seekers and other non-citizens.

The document states that among the recipients of these funds were organizations such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which received $2.1 million; Southwest Key Programs, with $40 million; and Endeavors Inc., with $3.9 million.

The White House also accuses some of these groups of promoting open-border immigration policies and notes that Southwest Key Programs faced a civil lawsuit from the Department of Justice related to alleged abuses against unaccompanied migrant children.

Cuts to Biden-era immigration programs

The administration also announced the rescission of $15 million in funding for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs established during the Joe Biden Administration.

According to the White House, these funds provided legal services, mental health services and cultural orientation to undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers and other non-citizens.

The document states that the program funded services such as housing, child care, education, transportation, health care, language classes and legal counseling.

The White House also announced an additional $10 million in cuts to DHS programs that, according to its description, funded organizations providing legal services to undocumented immigrants.

Among the beneficiaries mentioned are the National Partnership for New Americans, the Instituto del Progreso Latino, the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

$25 million for educational programs for non-citizens

The White House also highlighted $25 million in educational programs for non-citizens administered by the Department of Education.

According to the document, special programs for migrant students have funded activities related to immigrant students, including projects and workshops on mental health and LGBTQ+ issues.

The administration listed Immigrants Rising among the beneficiaries, along with some of the programs that, according to the White House, received federal funding.

Other announced cuts

The White House list also includes $15 million earmarked for the Community Relations Service (CRS) of the Department of Justice.

The Trump Administration accuses this agency, which was shut down at the beginning of its term, of promoting certain positions related to critical race theory and gender ideology. Among the examples cited by the White House is a training video for law enforcement officers about the transgender community.

The administration also included $9 million earmarked for debt relief programs for foreign countries in exchange for domestic investments related to climate change.

Another $10 million goes to programs run by the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The White House maintains that these programs awarded funds to businesses based on the race of their owners and cites a 2024 federal district court ruling that deemed a presumption of social disadvantage based on race or ethnicity, used in the agency's funding decisions, to be unconstitutional.

The administration also cited a 2025 audit that, according to the document, identified problems with the MBDA's documentation and validation of transactions.

Funding for international education and research

Among the cuts are $70 million in international education programs at the Department of Education that, according to the White House, were diverted from their original objectives to fund projects the administration considers ideological.

In addition, $28 million would be cut from HHS research programs that the administration deems duplicative, unnecessary, or ideological.

Among the projects mentioned are research related to carbon emissions in the healthcare sector, gender-affirming care, Medicaid coverage policies, primary care for sexual and racial minorities and transgender patient safety.