Trump Revives Pocket Rescission: A Budget Maneuver to Halt $4.9 Billion Foreign Aid

In a bold fiscal move, President Donald Trump has opted against spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, invoking a pocket rescission for the first time in nearly half a century. This maneuver effectively sidesteps the legislative branch, allowing funds to remain unspent.

Trump's decision, revealed in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday, reflects his administration's stance that the pocket rescission, last utilized by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, is a legitimate fiscal tool. Critics, however, argue that normalizing this practice could erode congressional control over federal spending.

The White House Office of Management and Budget announced the rescission via social media on Friday, detailing cuts to the State Department and the US Agency for International Development. The move capitalizes on the timing outlined in the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which gives the president authority to propose funding cancellations close to the fiscal year's end.

(With inputs from agencies.)