DHS Terminates 362 Grants, Deobligates $1 Billion After 2025 Executive Order
The Department of Homeland Security ended 362 grants and paused funding in FY2025, affecting FEMA, USCIS and other components.
In response to a February 2025 executive order directing agencies to review and terminate grants, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paused all obligated grant disbursements in February and, with Secretary approval, terminated 362 grants between January 20 and September 30, 2025. The terminations deobligated $1,001,777 thousand, according to DHS and USASpending data.
Four DHS components carried out the terminations. FEMA ended 215 grants, deobligating $999,433 thousand; USCIS terminated 111 grants, deobligating $2,342 thousand; the Science and Technology Directorate ended 35 grants, deobligating $2 thousand; and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency terminated a single grant with no deobligation. The GAO report notes that the abrupt pauses and terminations delayed disaster-mitigation projects by nearly a year and forced FEMA to reallocate and later reinstate funds for terrorism-prevention grants after a court order.
GAO found that DHS's approach impeded its FY 2025 objectives and, in some cases, undermined statutory purposes of its grant programs. Although DHS continues to place conditions on or terminate grants, the agency has not yet incorporated lessons learned from the 2025 actions into its current processes.
The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Homeland Security develop a process ensuring that grant-making components, such as FEMA, consider prior challenges before future terminations or funding pauses. DHS has indicated agreement with the recommendation, and GAO will monitor implementation.
The report, GAO-26-109097, serves as the second in a series examining DHS's grant and contract terminations following the 2025 executive directive.
Further reading