President Trump’s pocket rescission has generated a lot of controversy. Trump asked lawmakers at the end of August to use the rescission process to cancel approximately $5 billion in foreign aid programs administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State. And he is withholding that funding temporarily while Congress considers his request.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) claims that pocket rescissions like Trump’s are illegal and unconstitutional. Specifically, GAO argues that Trump’s decision to withhold federal funding temporarily while Congress considers his pocket rescission request violates the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344; the ICA) and usurps Congress’s constitutional power of the purse. However, a detailed review of GAO’s case against pocket rescissions suggests that the practice is legal and constitutional.
What is a pocket rescission?
A pocket rescission is a rescission request that the president sends to Congress less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year. The maneuver is controversial because it allows the president to withhold funding until it expires and is no longer available to be spent, even if Congress has not approved his request.
