Trump Invokes 'Pocket Rescission' to Claw Back $4.9 Billion in Congressionally Approved Foreign Aid

Trump invoked ‘pocket rescission’ to unilaterally claw back nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid from the State Department and USAID, circumventing Congress’s constitutional authority over federal appropriations. Pocket rescission is a controversial executive maneuver that allows the president to withhold spending authority after Congress has appropriated funds, effectively nullifying legislative decisions through inaction rather than veto. The move violates the separation of powers by allowing the executive branch to decide which congressionally mandated spending will actually occur based on political preferences rather than law. By systematically impounding foreign aid, Trump advances an isolationist agenda while punishing countries that refuse to align with his personal priorities, weaponizing development assistance as a tool of coercion. The practice has been challenged in court multiple times as unconstitutional, yet the administration continues using it to override Congress and concentrate fiscal power in the executive branch, fundamentally undermining the legislative branch’s power of the purse.