The White House on Friday announced that President Donald Trump plans to use a move called a “pocket rescission” to cut $810 million of federal funding approved by Congress.
Most of the funds rescinded are for programs that assisted immigrants, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Pocket rescissions, as defined by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, are when presidents ask Congress to cancel funds “very close to the end of the fiscal year — so close that the funds expire before they can be used for new obligations. ”
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They’re something Trump did last year, when he canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
Under the law, presidents who want to rescind federal funding that’s already been granted have to send lawmakers a special message requesting it be axed. Congress members then have 45 days to respond.
If a president does not give Congress enough time to consider the request, “the president is bypassing congressional authority over government funding,” the Government Accountability Office says.
In a statement, the White House said the Impoundment Control Act gives Trump authority to deploy pocket recissions. The act allows funds to be withheld for 45 days of continuous session after the president sends lawmakers the request to cancel the money.
The Government Accountability Office, though, denied that the act allows presidents to use pocket rescissions. A pocket rescission, the GAO said, cedes “Congress’s power of the purse by allowing a president to, in effect, change the law by shortening the period of availability for fixed-period funds. “
Lawmakers, Rep. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Friday, received the package of pocket rescissions from Trump administration officials “without warning or consultation.”
“This is the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse,” she said. “This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.”
She called the rescissions a “usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers” and said she plans to work with her colleagues to “address these illegal actions.”
“OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding,” she said.
Like Collins, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., also said the administration has been “unlawfully impounding funds all year” so it could enact pocket rescissions.
“Republicans should join Democrats in rejecting this attempt to circumvent Congress, protecting investments promised to families nationwide, and standing up for Congress’s constitutional power of the purse,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump is “gleefully eviscerating programs and protections that help hardworking American families live a safe and healthy life,” saying the funding is critical and supports kids, K-12 students, small businesses, as well as health and clean air research.
“Americans are crying out for relief. Instead of ending his Iran war and tariff chaos that are driving up costs, Trump is rolling out the red carpet for our adversaries while stealing funds meant to help American families,” Schumer said. “Senate Democrats will challenge Trump’s illegal cuts at every turn and continue the fight to help American families, lower health care costs and secure our communities.”
The Trump administration defended the rescissions, saying the president is “continuing his commitment to the American taxpayer” by eliminating “wasteful” government spending.
