After courts hampered earlier efforts, Trump wants to cancel more funding during shutdown

After courts hampered earlier efforts, Trump wants to cancel more funding during shutdown Politics Oct 27, 2025 2:52 PM EDT

Congress has the constitutional power of the purse, but President Donald Trump’s robust assertion of executive authority is testing even that basic tenet of U.S. democracy.

His administration has already canceled or threatened to cancel billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and now wants to go after even more funding during the government shutdown.

States, cities, nonprofits and other groups have responded with more than 150 lawsuits accusing the Republican administration of an unlawful power grab.

An Associated Press analysis shows that so far, those suits are mostly succeeding in blocking the Republican president’s spending moves, at leas