Pocket Rescission Attempts to Cancel $5 Billion Without Congressional Approval

In late August 2025, the administration employed a "pocket rescission," a late-fiscal-year funding proposal timed so that Congress would have no opportunity to act before the fiscal year ended, to withhold approximately $5 billion in foreign assistance funding that had already been appropriated.

Critics argued the maneuver revived a disputed form of executive impoundment that conflicts with the procedural requirements of the Impoundment Control Act, which generally requires the executive to spend or formally rescind funds with congressional approval within a defined window. The tactic raises questions about whether the executive can functionally bypass Congress's power of the purse by exploiting timing rather than obtaining affirmative legislative consent.

The action is described as a pocket rescission attempt as of its date; the record does not indicate a court ruling resolving its legality.