Legal challenges are mounting against the White House's decision to unilaterally withdraw funds for refugees, housing and climate initiatives. A wave of filings on Oct. 1, including a suit by California agricultural interests, seeks to overturn the executive branch's move to cancel approximately $810 million in government spending. The lawsuits follow an effort by Senate Democrats to pass legislation to halt the clawbacks, which Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) blocked on Oct. 1.

The cuts were executed via "pocket rescissions" targeting 11 pools of unspent money across seven departments just before the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. The Government Accountability Office issued an opinion stating the maneuver violates the Impoundment Control Act and subverts the constitutional power of the purse. Among the largest cuts is $567 million for refugee and asylee services at the Department of Health and Human Services. OMB Director Russell Vought defended the action, asserting that the Supreme Court has previously upheld the use of such rescissions at the end of a fiscal year.