White House Seeks $810 Million in Education and Health Cuts Despite Congress’s Past Resistance

The White House has proposed canceling $810 million in previously approved education and health funding, renewing a budget fight with Congress over how much discretion the executive branch has to pull back money lawmakers already set aside. The move, disclosed in a White House fact sheet, adds another flashpoint to an administration already using spending cuts as part of its broader push to reshape federal priorities.

The proposal would affect programs tied to schools, public health and related services, though the administration’s public material did not spell out every grant or line item in the package. The cuts are part of a rescissions request, a formal mechanism presidents can use to ask Congress to cancel budget authority that has not yet been spent. Under federal law, such requests still depend on congressional action to become permanent.

The issue has become especially consequential as the administration has increasingly sought to challenge spending decisions made in previous budget cycles. The White House said President Donald Trump is committed to using “all possible tools” to eliminate what it calls wasteful and harmful spending, language that framed the rescissions package as part of a larger effort to redirect federal dollars.

A familiar conflict over spending power

Rescissions have long been politically difficult because they force lawmakers to revisit spending they already approved. Congress can accept the request, reject it, or simply allow the money to remain in place. In this case, the administration’s latest proposal arrives amid a broader campaign by Trump officials to cut federal education and health outlays, including other actions the White House has described as reducing fraud, waste and ideological spending.

The White House fact sheet released on Sept. 25, 2026, did not say when Congress might act on the request or whether the full $810 million would be targeted in a single measure or spread across multiple accounts. It also did not specify the affected states, school systems, health programs or grant recipients, leaving those details to be defined if lawmakers take up the proposal.

For education and health advocates, the stakes are immediate because rescissions can delay planning even before Congress votes. For the administration, the request is another test of whether it can persuade Capitol Hill to accept deep cuts in areas that have traditionally attracted bipartisan protection. The next step now rests with lawmakers, who will decide whether to preserve the funding, reduce it, or let the White House’s plan move forward.