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6m ago

Trump Uses Rare 'Pocket Rescission' to Cancel $4.9 Billion in Foreign Aid

The late-season timing would let the money lapse under the Impoundment Control Act’s clock, a tactic the GAO says violates the law.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Boxes of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food sit at the Mana Nutrition plant in Fitzgerald, Georgia, on March 3, 2025.
Sen. Susan Collins blasted Pres. Trump's attempt to cancel $5 billion in foreign aid through a pocket rescission without congressional approval as unlawful.
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Overview

  • OMB told Congress late Thursday and posted the letter Friday, saying State Department and USAID funds will be withheld through the Sept. 30 fiscal-year end.
  • Targets include about $3.2 billion in USAID development aid, roughly $520 million for international organizations, around $393 million for State peacekeeping, $445 million in separate peacekeeping aid, and $322 million for the Democracy Fund.
  • The D.C. Circuit lifted an injunction tied to these accounts earlier Thursday, clearing the way for the first attempted pocket rescission since 1977.
  • The White House argues the maneuver is permissible and cites 1970s precedent, while the GAO deems pocket rescissions illegal under the Impoundment Control Act.
  • Sen. Susan Collins called the move a clear violation of law and Democrats vowed to fight it, with budget watchers warning it could complicate September funding talks and heighten shutdown risks.