'Backdoor' funding cuts possible by Trump administration, as Congress faces government shutdown

Source: Reuters

September 28, 2025 6:04 AM EDT Updated 6 hours ago


WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - With three days to go before a U.S. government shutdown, an advocacy group that tracks federal spending warns that about $8 billion approved by Congress for healthcare and education is at risk of going unused, held back by President Donald Trump's administration.

The potential "backdoor cuts" identified by the litigation-focused group Protect Democracy are an example of the way the White House, in pushing to remake the government, is setting aside agreements reached by Congress, which the U.S. Constitution gives authority over spending.

It's an approach that has helped to deepen the distrust with lawmakers that has prevented an agreement on funding the government into the new fiscal year that starts on Wednesday.

U.S. lawmakers are also taking notice of the administration's approach, as Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, wrote the administration on Thursday with Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, to push for full funding this year – not elimination -- of 21 educational and cultural exchange State Department programs across the world. This funding was approved in a bill Trump himself signed into law in March.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/backdoor-funding-cuts-possible-by-trump-administration-congress-faces-government-2025-09-28/