Sen. Collins Pushes Back on Trump's Pocket Rescission

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, pushed back Friday on President Donald Trump's decision to use a "pocket rescission" to cancel nearly $5 billion in foreign aid that was previously approved by Congress.

"Given that this package was sent to Congress very close to the end of the fiscal year when the funds are scheduled to expire, this is an apparent attempt to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval," Collins said in a statement.

"GAO has concluded that this type of rescission is unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act," she said, referring to the Government Accountability Office. "Article I of the Constitution makes clear that Congress has the responsibility for the power of the purse. Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law."

A pocket rescission is a funding cancellation request that is presented to Congress so late in the fiscal year that it takes effect regardless of whether federal lawmakers approve. Sept. 30 marks the end of the government's fiscal year.

The maneuver, which has been legally debated, hasn't been attempted in nearly 50 years.

According to the New York Post, the funding that Trump is seeking to claw back is extensive:

• $3.2 billion in United States Agency for International Development (USAID) development assistance
• $322 million from the USAID-State Department Democracy Fund
• $521 million in State Department contributions to international organizations
• $393 million in State Department contributions to peacekeeping activities
• $445 million in separately budgeted peacekeeping aid

Spending items that the Trump administration has deemed wasteful include $24.6 million for "climate resilience" in Honduras and $3.9 million to promote democracy among LGBT people in the Western Balkans, the Post reported. There's also $2.7 million for the South African Democracy Works Foundation, which published "The Problem with White People" and other inflammatory racial articles, as well as $1.5 million to market the paintings of Ukrainian women.

Trump reportedly notified Congress of his intention to cancel the funding on Thursday night, following a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier in the day to lift an injunction and allow him to proceed in his attempt to invoke the pocket rescission.

The spending had been paused earlier this year by the White House Office of Management and Budget but had been stuck in limbo after the Global Health Council filed a lawsuit over the rescission.

The GAO had ruled during the first Trump administration that pocket rescissions are unlawful; however, The New York Times reported in June that OMB Director Russell Vought said "all manner of provisions" would be employed to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending.

White House general counsel Mark Paoletta has repeatedly pointed to a 1975 GAO opinion authorizing the maneuver, arguing on X that the office's reversal during the president's first term was due to "Trump derangement syndrome."

In her statement, Collins said that instead of attempting "to undermine the law," the "appropriate" thing for the Trump administration to do would be to "identify ways to reduce excessive spending through the bipartisan, annual appropriations process."

"Congress approves rescissions regularly as part of this process," she wrote. "In fact, the yearlong funding bill that we are currently operating under includes 70 rescissions. This month, the Appropriations Committee intends to markup the Fiscal Year 2026 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill. The annual funding bill is the most appropriate way to ensure that any rescissions reflect the views of Congress."