The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump is rescinding more than $800 million in funds previously approved by Congress, a move that has already triggered accusations of unconstitutional overreach from at least one Republican senator.
In a statement released Friday evening, the administration confirmed the president is utilizing authority under the Impoundment Control Act to execute a “pocket rescission.” This legal strategy involves requesting the cancellation of funds as the fiscal year concludes, effectively bypassing the standard 45-day congressional review period. The maneuver echoes a tactic Trump employed in 2025 to claw back billions in foreign aid, which the Supreme Court allowed to proceed by staying a lower court order, though the high court noted its decision should not be interpreted as a final ruling on the legality of the action.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), pocket rescissions occur when the president asks Congress to cancel funds near the end of the fiscal year. While Congress technically has 45 days to respond to such requests, the GAO has stated that when insufficient time is provided for consideration or expenditure, the president is circumventing congressional authority over government spending.
The latest rescission targets programs across several federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice. The administration alleges that $567 million directed to HHS supported “pro-illegal immigration programs” and NGOs providing services to refugees, asylees, and other non-citizens. Additionally, the White House accused certain Department of Homeland Security programs of using taxpayer money to provide welfare to undocumented immigrants.
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, strongly condemned the decision. In a social media statement on Friday, she described the action as an attempt to undermine Congress’s constitutional power of the purse and labeled it a clear violation of the law.
“The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act,” Collins wrote. “Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
Collins further alleged that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) intentionally withheld the $810 million package for months to facilitate the cancellation, despite the funds being approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law. She emphasized that the OMB, as an executive branch agency, does not have the authority to determine which programs deserve funding, vowing to work with colleagues to address what she termed illegal actions.
Another $800 million gone. My wallet doesn’t feel any lighter, but my anxiety about checks and balances just spiked.
Pocket rescissions are definitely sketchy, but let’s remember the Supreme Court allowed the 2025 version to stand. History repeats.
I’m surprised Collins is the one pushing back hardest here. I thought she was more aligned with the administration?
Wait, they withheld the funds for months to make this work? That’s some serious strategic gaming of the system.
This feels like a constitutional crisis in slow motion. Congress holds the purse strings, not the White House.