President Donald Trump has unilaterally canceled $810 million in federally approved spending, the second time in two years he has used a pocket rescission to claw back funds without congressional approval. A White House memo says $567 million came from programs serving refugees, asylees and other non-citizens. The Government Accountability Office has deemed the tactic illegal, while Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, accused the Office of Management and Budget and Russell Vought of undermining Congress's constitutional power of the purse. Congress normally has 45 days to accept or reject a presidential request to cancel appropriated funds, but lawmakers can no longer prevent the money from expiring when the fiscal year ends late Wednesday. The House has adjourned until after the midterms, and Congress gave up key leverage by approving a short-term funding measure that keeps the government operating through mid-December. Lawmakers from both parties are discussing steps to prevent Trump from bypassing the congressional funding process during the final two years of his presidency. The administration also withheld $15 million from a Justice Department team addressing racial and ethnic tensions and civil disorders, $70 million from programs supporting institutions that bring foreign students and faculty to the United States, and tens of millions from research and nonprofit grants focused on climate change or racial and gender minority work.