Trump implements ‘pocket rescission’ to cancel $5 BILLION in foreign aid, peacekeeping funds

On Thursday evening, Trump requested that Congress cancel the funding, which was connected to a court case earlier that day, per the New York Post. A "pocket rescission" is a request to cancel funds late in the fiscal year such that congressional approval is not needed for it to pass. The recission claws back $3.2 billion from funding slated for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) development assistance, $521 million in State Department contributions to internal organizations, $445 million in peacekeeping aid, $322 million was cut from the USAID-State Department Democracy Fund, and $393 million was canceled from the State Department contributions for peacekeeping.

The spending would have gone to a number of nonprofit organizations as well as foreign governments, but was paused earlier this year by the White House Office of Management and Budget. That faced some legal challenges, but on Thursday, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction in the case, which allowed for Trump to cut the funding.

The White House highlighted where some of the funds would contribute to, including $24.6 million to support “climate resilience” in Honduras, and the South African Democracy Works Foundation was slated to get $2.7 million. The foundation has published articles including “The Problem with White People." $3.9 million was headed to the Balkans to promote Democracy for LGBTQ people.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has deemed that pocket rescissions are illegal, but the Trump team has said otherwise.

The last time a "pocket rescission" was done by the president was under former President Jimmy Carter. General Counsel for the Office of Management and Budget Mark Paoletta, however, hit back at the claims from the GAO.

"Trump Derangement Syndrome is on full display with this pocket rescission post. GAO is wrong on pocket rescissions (the Impoundment Control Act text specifically allows for them) AND GAO previously agreed with this view for 43 years – until 2018 (during Trump 45 Administration) when it abruptly reversed its position. Congress is well aware that the ICA permits pocket rescissions. In fact, GAO told Congress this in a December 15, 1975 opinion, and despite amending various provisions of the ICA over the years, Congress has never amended the language that permits pocket rescissions," he wrote.

OMB Director Russ Vought has also pointed to when a pocket rescission has been used before. GAO could be in a position to sue the Trump administration over the move, however, it is unclear if the office will do so.