President Trump is canceling nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid and peacekeeping funds using a rare “pocket rescission,” a tactic not used in 48 years.
He notified Congress Thursday night after the funds, previously paused by the White House Office of Management and Budget, were released from a court hold earlier in the day. A pocket rescission takes effect automatically if submitted late in the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, regardless of congressional approval.
The clawback includes $3.2 billion in USAID development assistance, $322 million from the USAID-State Department Democracy Fund, $521 million in contributions to international organizations, $393 million in peacekeeping contributions, and $445 million in separately budgeted peacekeeping aid. Peacekeeping allocations include $11 million for armored personnel carriers for Uruguay, $4 million for a training center in Zambia, and $3 million for barracks for Kazakhstani forces. U.S. support for the Multinational Force and Observers mission along the Egyptian-Israeli border remains unaffected.
The GAO considers the practice illegal, while Trump’s OMB points to historical examples under Presidents Ford and Carter. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 gives Congress 45 days to act on rescission requests, a process Trump used last month to cut $1 billion from NPR and PBS and $8 billion from USAID.
