Trump Defies Congress by Initiating $4.9 Billion Foreign Aid Cuts Using Pocket Rescission
President Donald Trump has announced a unilateral move to cut $4.9 billion in foreign aid that Congress had previously approved, invoking a rarely used budgetary maneuver known as a pocket rescission. This controversial step has spurred bipartisan backlash, with some lawmakers condemning the move as unlawful.
On August 29, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a letter from President Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson. The letter detailed the president’s intention to rescind funding across 15 budget authorities, including allocations for the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other international development and assistance programs.
According to OMB officials, this marks the first time in nearly five decades that the pocket rescission authority under the Impoundment Control Act has been deployed. This Act allows the president to propose rescinding budget authority, which then requires approval from Congress within 45 legislative days. If submitted too late in the fiscal year, these funds can effectively be withheld until the fiscal year ends, at which point the funds expire without congressional approval.
The current fiscal year ends on September 30, 2025, which means Congress must act swiftly to block the rescission—a scenario many legislators doubt will happen. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms the last pocket rescission occurred in 1977, underscoring the rarity of this executive action.
OMB representatives characterized the blocked funds as “woke and weaponized foreign aid money that violates the president’s America First priorities.” Previously, Trump had sought to eliminate foreign aid funds approved by Congress, and while some cuts were accepted by lawmakers during July negotiations, this unilateral maneuver bypasses congressional authorization entirely.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from Capitol Hill. A top Republican lawmaker termed the pocket rescission “unlawful,” and Democrats have echoed similar concerns regarding the executive overreach and the negative implications for U.S. global leadership and humanitarian commitments.
In sum, Trump’s use of a pocket rescission to withhold nearly $5 billion in foreign aid marks an unprecedented assertion of executive power in recent history, igniting fierce debate over the balance of powers between the presidency and Congress as the fiscal year deadline approaches.