A budgetary maneuver known as a pocket rescission was deployed by the White House on Sept. 25 to immediately halt payments to specific federal projects. President Donald Trump used this mechanism to cancel nearly $1B in spending for undocumented immigrants and race-focused initiatives, with administrative support from Russ Vought.

The funding cuts targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs as well as services for illegal aliens, drawing praise from conservative allies. Rep. Chip Roy and the House Freedom Caucus credited the administration for the move and encouraged the president to cancel further taxpayer spending on what they termed woke race-based programs.