Eight hundred and ten million dollars. That’s how much Congress voted to spend on refugee services, children’s programs, and domestic aid. The president decided he’d rather keep it. Not through a veto, not through any process involving another branch of government. He used something called a “pocket rescission,” which is a fancy way of saying he let the money expire in a drawer. The GAO already ruled it illegal. Lawmakers in both parties said the same thing. He did it anyway, because consequences are for people who can’t afford lawyers.
Over $567 million of that was earmarked for the Office of Refugee Resettlement. People who arrived here after fleeing things most Americans will only ever read about. Kids in those programs didn’t ask to be part of this. They just needed the funding that was sitting in a line item until a man with a Sharpie decided they didn’t deserve it. Nobody benefits from this cut. The money just disappears so a president can feel like a king for the afternoon.