President Trump has initiated a rare fiscal maneuver to cancel approximately $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, according to a report. The decision involves a “pocket rescission,” a method rarely employed since the 1970s, which allows the executive branch to withhold funds late in the fiscal year when Congress is unlikely to act.
The White House notified lawmakers of its intent to cancel the funds, including $3.2 billion in U.S. 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 for peacekeeping activities, and $445 million in separately budgeted peacekeeping aid. These funds were originally allocated to nonprofits and foreign governments but had been paused earlier this year by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The move follows a legal challenge involving the Global Health Council, which filed a lawsuit against the administration’s hold on the spending. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals recently lifted an injunction, enabling Trump’s plan to proceed. The administration has criticized specific allocations, including $24.6 million for “climate resilience” in Honduras, $2.7 million for a South African organization linked to inflammatory racial content, and $3.9 million for promoting democracy among LGBT communities in the Western Balkans. Another contested item was $1.5 million designated to market the paintings of Ukrainian women.
OMB Director Russ Vought had previously indicated the administration’s consideration of using pocket rescissions to address what it termed “out-of-control government spending.” The Trump administration also sought Supreme Court intervention to block a federal judge’s order requiring it to finalize the funding plan by month’s end, arguing that Congress holds authority over such decisions under the Impoundment Control Act. Legal filings emphasized the executive’s right to act swiftly, asserting that late-year rescissions would be impractical for lawmakers to overturn.