The White House announced on Friday that President Donald Trump is cancelling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, using a rarely used process known as a 'pocket rescission' that the Government Accountability Office has called illegal. Trump's Office of Management and Budget described the cuts as targeting 'the most harmful government spending,' with most aimed at Health and Human Services programs serving refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. Other targets identified by the outlets included a Department of Education program for migrant students, a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions, a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs, Housing and Urban Development housing counseling services, and HHS grants the administration called 'outright harmful and blatantly ideological.' The administration said the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably, and a White House release noted that some of the organizations involved are led by people who worked in the Obama administration.
Trump cancels nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved spending through 'pocket rescission'
The White House announced on Friday that President Donald Trump is cancelling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, using a rarely used process known as a 'pocket rescission' that the Government Accountability Office has called illegal. Trump's Office of Management and Budget described the cuts as targeting 'the most harmful government spending,' with most aimed at Health and Human Services programs serving refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. Other targets identified by the outlets included a Department of Education program for migrant students, a Justice Department office focused on reducing racial tensions, a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs, Housing and Urban Development housing counseling services, and HHS grants the administration called 'outright harmful and blatantly ideological.' The administration said the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably, and a White House release noted that some of the organizations involved are led by people who worked in the Obama administration.
Under federal law, the Impoundment Control Act allows the administration to withhold funding for 45 days while Congress considers a rescission request; if lawmakers do not approve it, the money must be released. The Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, describes a pocket rescission as occurring when a president sends such a request so close to the end of the fiscal year that the funds expire before they can be used for new obligations. The announcement came with five days left in the federal fiscal year, and STAT News and CBC News reported the House was out of session through the November elections.
The Hill reported the amount cancelled through the pocket rescission as $810 million and said Collins called on OMB to spend all $1.3 billion appropriated for fiscal 2025 as intended. STAT News and CBC News reported additional rescissions the White House announced: $70 million for what it called 'woke' international education programs, $28 million in grant funding for HHS research programs, $9 million in debt relief for foreign countries that fund climate change policies, and $10 million withheld from a minority business development program. The Hill also reported that the cuts included HHS gender-affirming care research and the Justice Department's Community Relations Service, which the White House said promoted identity-conscious law enforcement practices.
A year ago, Trump used a pocket rescission for the first time in nearly 50 years by blocking congressionally approved foreign aid. The Hill put that figure at roughly $5 billion, while The Guardian, STAT News and CBC News reported it as $4.9 billion. The Supreme Court declined to block those rescissions, citing Trump's authority over foreign affairs. STAT News and CBC News reported that what was essentially the last pocket rescission occurred in 1977, when then-president Jimmy Carter rescinded one, and that the administration argues the tool is legally permissible, despite what the outlets described as murkiness, because Carter had initially proposed the clawback well ahead of the 45-day deadline.
The Guardian, STAT News and CBC News described the use of the maneuver as part of a broader pattern by the Trump administration of exerting greater control over the federal government and eroding Congress's power. The same outlets cited the firing of federal workers, a historic increase in tariffs and the war with Iran, which they said was started without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judicial branch to determine the limits of presidential power.
Where sources differ
- The size of last year's pocket rescission: The Hill reports roughly $5 billion in congressionally approved funding was cut, while The Guardian, STAT News and CBC News report $4.9 billion.
- The precision of this year's total: The Hill reports $810 million was cancelled through the pocket rescission, while The Guardian, STAT News and CBC News describe the amount as nearly $1 billion.
- Sen. Patty Murray's role: The Guardian describes her as vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, while STAT News and CBC News describe her as the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
- None of the sources provides a complete itemised list of the affected programs, recipient organisations or per-program amounts beyond the categories and figures named.
- No source reports a direct response from OMB Director Russell Vought or from the White House to the specific claims by Collins, Murray and Merkley that the maneuver is unlawful, beyond the administration's general argument that the tool is legally permissible.
- No comment from affected non-profit organisations, agencies or congressional Republican leaders other than Collins appears in the sources.
- The sources do not establish whether any of the funds had already been obligated or spent before the rescission was announced, or whether any litigation has been filed over this year's action.
- The sources do not establish whether or when Congress will vote on the rescissions, or when the House returns to session.
- The Hill's report that Collins asked OMB to spend all $1.3 billion appropriated from fiscal 2025 as intended is not corroborated by the other sources.
- The identities of the judges, officials or organisations referenced indirectly in the rescission announcements, and the specific programs cut under each agency, are not fully established.
- CBS News — original
- ABC News Australia — by Elissa Fitzgerald
- The Hill — by Mira Bhakta
- The Guardian US — by Guardian staff and agencies
- STAT News — by Associated Press
- CBC News
- New York Post — by Victor Nava
- PBS NewsHour — by Amna Nawaz