The Trump administration is moving to cancel $810 million in congressionally approved federal funding through a controversial maneuver known as a pocket rescission.
The move sidesteps congressional approval entirely, drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including members of Trump’s own party.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine was among the most vocal critics, publicly rebuking the Office of Management and Budget over the lack of communication before the announcement.
“Without warning or consultation, Congress just received an $810 million package of pocket rescissions from the Administration,” Collins said in her statement.
Collins went further, calling it “the most recent attempt by this OMB to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse,” signaling real frustration among Senate Republicans.
The administration’s rescission package includes $567 million cut from HHS funds for noncitizens, $15 million from Biden-era DHS welfare programs for undocumented immigrants, and $25 million in educational programs for noncitizens.
Top Democratic appropriator Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut called on Republicans to reject what she described as an “attempt to circumvent Congress” by the Trump administration.
DeLauro also accused the administration of “unlawfully impounding funds all year just to get to this point,” escalating Democratic rhetoric around what they see as deliberate constitutional overreach.
Democrats had previously attempted to include language in an August funding patch that would have blocked the White House from using a pocket rescission, but Republicans prevented that provision from moving forward.
The Government Accountability Office has explicitly stated that pocket rescissions are illegal, a position shared by most credible legal observers following the administration’s announcement.
The administration defended the move by highlighting what it called Trump’s use of “long-neglected Presidential authorities provided to him under the Impoundment Control Act.”
White House officials also noted a similar rescission executed last year, marking the first time in nearly 50 years that a president had employed this particular budget maneuver.
House GOP appropriators have largely remained silent on the rescissions, creating a notable contrast with the more outspoken response from Collins and Democratic leaders.
The funding cuts target programs disproportionately serving immigrants, minorities, and children, which critics argue makes the political and legal stakes around the rescission especially significant.
